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Ship Sinking in Antarctic Waters

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[November 23, 2007]  LONDON (AP) -- More than 150 passengers and crew took to lifeboats in Antarctic waters on Friday after their cruise ship hit an object 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.

"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.

"There has been some information coming back that it may have hit an iceberg but it has not been confirmed."

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.

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The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said it was informed at 12:24 a.m. EST of the incident involving the 2,646-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.

It was believed the passengers included 22 or 23 British citizens, and undetermined numbers of Americans and Canadians, the Coast Guard said.

[Associated Press]

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