The Chilean Navy participated in a successful international operation rescuing a cruise liner's 100 passengers and 54 crew members after the boat crashed against an iceberg in the Antarctic Ocean.
The 2,400-ton cruise liner M/S
Explorer hit an iceberg early Friday near King George island in the Antarctic Ocean near a Chilean base and the Shetland del Sur islands.
The cruise liner's captain and an official were the only one people to remain aboard until Friday morning, while the rest of the people remained all night in rafts floating in the cold waters.
An emergency operation was carried out as soon as the accident occurred with the participation of military troops from Chile, Argentina, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The cruise liner's captain Juan Carlos Munita said on Friday at the Rescue Operations Center that the
Chilean Navy began to evacuate the crew members and the passengers.
The cruise liner, built in 1969, belongs to the Gap Adventures tourism company with headquarters in Toronto, Canada.
Source: Xinhua