Cruise ship sinks; all 154 on board rescued

SANTIAGO, Chile, Saturday, AP - A small Canadian cruise ship carrying passengers who shelled out thousands of dollars to retrace the route of a 20th century explorer struck an iceberg and sank hours later in the icy waters off Antarctica. Its reinforced hull gashed and taking on water, the MS Explorer slipped beneath the waves Friday evening, about 20 hours after its pre-dawn accident near the South Shetland Islands, the Chilean navy said.

Initial reports suggested only a small hole was punched into the hull, but the Argentine navy later said in a statement it observed ''significant'' damage. Photos released by the Chilean navy throughout the day showed the ship lying nearly on its side, surrounded by floating blocks of ice. Andrea Salas, an Argentine crew member aboard the Explorer, was quoted as saying passengers felt an initial bump that seemed minor.

''Then we heard the captain announcing that there was another iceberg approaching us and that he was waiting ... for it to pass by,'' she told Radio Continental in Buenos Aires. ''But that didn't happen,'' and there was a second, larger collision. ''They started pumping water out to keep the ship afloat'' while the 154 passengers and crew members evacuated, said Salas, 38. After bobbing for hours in subfreezing temperatures aboard lifeboats and inflatable rafts, the 154 passengers and crew members were rescued by a Norwegian cruise liner, the Nordnorge, that answered the Explorer's distress call.

Wearing bright orange suits to fend off the bitter temperatures, their faces reddened by a blustery storm that delayed their landing, the rescued finally disembarked yesterday night on King George Island in Antarctica.