More than 150 passengers and crew, including 14 Americans, took to lifeboats in Antarctic waters on Friday after their cruise ship apparently hit an iceberg and began taking on water through a hole in the hull, Britain's Coast Guard said. No injuries were reported.
"Latest reports are that all persons are safe and accounted for," said Coast Guard spokesman Fred Caygill.
Evacuees from the Liberian-flagged Explorer were boarding another cruise ship, Endeavor, near the South Shetland Islands and were expected to be transferred later to a larger ship, said Henry Purbrick, watch officer at the Coast Guard center in Falmouth, England.
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"We believed it has been hulled, it has a hole the size of a fist and some cracking in the hull of the ship, it's taking water and it's listing about 21 degrees," Caygill told AP Radio.
"Apparently they crashed into an iceberg," Pedro Tuhay, of the Argentine coast guard, told local radio as operations continued to save the vessel. "The boat's got a 23-degree list, but it's keeping steady very well."
"The ship was traveling out of Ushuaia in Argentina, traveling southbound to Antarctica, and off King George Island it hit some ice and began taking on some water," Susan Hayes, a spokeswoman for ship owner Gap Adventures, told CNN.
"There has been some information coming back that it may have hit an iceberg but it has not been confirmed."
Sinking?
It was unclear whether the vessel would sink, Caygill said.
There was a lot of ice in the area, but the vessel was built to withstand ice, said another Coast Guard spokesman Mark Clark.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said it was informed at 12:24 a.m. EST of the incident involving the 2646-ton vessel Explorer.
The incident was reported near the South Shetland Islands and Graham Land, an Antarctic peninsula, the Coast Guard said.
Rescue centers in Norfolk, Va., and Ushuaia, Argentina, were taking charge of coordination, the Coast Guard said.
The ship carried 100 passengers and 54 crew, said Henry Purbrick, a Coast Guard officer in Falmouth, told Sky News.
Thirteen American passengers and one U.S. crew member were among those aboard the Explorer, Petty Officer Faith Wisinski of the U.S. Coast Guard told NBC News.
It was believed the passengers also included 22 or 23 British citizens, and undetermined number of Canadians, the Coast Guard told The Associated Press.
"Latest reports are that all persons are safe and accounted for," said Coast Guard spokesman Fred Caygill.
Evacuees from the Liberian-flagged Explorer were boarding another cruise ship, Endeavor, near the South Shetland Islands and were expected to be transferred later to a larger ship, said Henry Purbrick, watch officer at the Coast Guard center in Falmouth, England.
Story continues below ↓advertisement
"We believed it has been hulled, it has a hole the size of a fist and some cracking in the hull of the ship, it's taking water and it's listing about 21 degrees," Caygill told AP Radio.
"Apparently they crashed into an iceberg," Pedro Tuhay, of the Argentine coast guard, told local radio as operations continued to save the vessel. "The boat's got a 23-degree list, but it's keeping steady very well."
"The ship was traveling out of Ushuaia in Argentina, traveling southbound to Antarctica, and off King George Island it hit some ice and began taking on some water," Susan Hayes, a spokeswoman for ship owner Gap Adventures, told CNN.
"There has been some information coming back that it may have hit an iceberg but it has not been confirmed."
Sinking?
It was unclear whether the vessel would sink, Caygill said.
There was a lot of ice in the area, but the vessel was built to withstand ice, said another Coast Guard spokesman Mark Clark.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said it was informed at 12:24 a.m. EST of the incident involving the 2646-ton vessel Explorer.
The incident was reported near the South Shetland Islands and Graham Land, an Antarctic peninsula, the Coast Guard said.
Rescue centers in Norfolk, Va., and Ushuaia, Argentina, were taking charge of coordination, the Coast Guard said.
The ship carried 100 passengers and 54 crew, said Henry Purbrick, a Coast Guard officer in Falmouth, told Sky News.
Thirteen American passengers and one U.S. crew member were among those aboard the Explorer, Petty Officer Faith Wisinski of the U.S. Coast Guard told NBC News.
It was believed the passengers also included 22 or 23 British citizens, and undetermined number of Canadians, the Coast Guard told The Associated Press.