Some passengers from the sea cruiser Explorer arrive in Punta Arenas, 2000 kms south of Santiago, Chile, from Antarctica in a Chilean Air Force plane. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    SANTIAGO, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- About half of the more than 150 passengers and crew who survived the shipwreck of a cruise ship in Antarctica arrived in southern Chile on Saturday, local media reported.

    Seventy-seven people, who were on board the Ms Explorer when the cruise liner struck ice and sank off King George Island in Antarctic seas on Friday, arrived at Punta Arenas in southern Chile by a Chilean air force plane.

    The plane, Hercules, was due to set off again to ferry the remainder of those rescued. The cruiser, owned by Canadian travel company G.A.P. Adventure and built in 1969, offered tours around Antarctica at a cost of about 8,000 U.S. dollars per cabin. It sank hours after hitting the ice.

    With 91 vacationers from Argentina, Australia, Britain, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, the United States and elsewhere, 54 crew members and nine other employees on board, the cruiser was a week away from completing a 19-day trip.

    All the people aboard were evacuated by life rafts and were plucked up by a Norwegian cruise hours later.

    They spent the night at two military bases on King George Island for flights out.

    The G.A.P. company said earlier it was making arrangements to send the passengers to their respective homes.

    154 passengers rescued after cruiseliner crash in Antarctic Ocean

    LONDON, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- A total of 154 on board a luxury cruiseliner which sank after hitting an iceberg in the Antarctic Ocean were rescued on Friday.

    The stricken Explorer is now listing at 45 degrees near the South Shetland Islands, off the Argentinian coast, Sky news reported. Full story

    Chilean Navy rescues sunken cruise liner's passengers, crew members

    SANTIAGO, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Chilean Navy participated on Friday 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. Full story

    Ship carrying 154 people sinking in Antarctic

    BEIJING, Nov. 23 (Xinhuanet) -- A ship carrying 154 people struck an object in Antarctic waters and is sinking, Britain's Coast Guard said Friday.

    All passengers have been evacuated from the ship named Explorer, said Neil Oliver of the Coast Guard station at Falmouth, England. Full story

    Officials: Spill from Antarctic shipwreck poses serious pollution threat

   BUENOS AIRES,Nov.24 (Xinhua) -- Oil fuels spilled from the shipwreck of a cruise ship that sank off Antarctica were posing a serious threat to the environment, Argentine Environment Secretary Romina Picolotti said on Saturday.

    The spill, which formed a 8-km pollution belt in nearby seas, was still within control, Picolotti said after visiting the scene, quoting experts. Full story

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