Passengers rescued in Antarctic cruise drama

Around 100 passengers had to be rescued from a stricken cruise liner in the Antarctic Ocean today.

The evacuation of the 2,400-tonne vessel MV Explorer came after it reportedly hit an iceberg and started listing near the South Shetland Islands, hundreds of miles south of Argentina.

The passengers were put into liferafts and transferred to the cruise ship Endeavour and another vessel, the Nord Norge, and were expected to be taken back to the port of Ushuaia on the southern tip of Argentina.

The vessel’s Toronto-based owners Gap Adventures has reported all the passengers were safe.

The captain and one member of the 54-strong crew were reported to be staying on the vessel and attempting to pump out water. Temperatures in the area, where the season is late spring, would be around -5C.