A cruise ship with 100 passengers and 54 crew members aboard has reportedly begun sinking on Friday after it hit the ice in the Antarctic off the coast of Argentina, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported. The passengers of the Explorer cruise ship were rescued by a joint operation of the Argentine and U.S. coast guards, the BBC reported, citing the U.K. Coast Guard.

The incident that will eventually lead to the sinking of the M/S Explorer occurred in the vicinity of King George Island in the Antarctic Ocean, near the South Shetland Islands. The 154 people that were rescued are currently the lifeboats, said Andy Cattrell, of the UK's Falmouth Coastguard for the BBC. He added that, as expected, the captain and the chief officer of the M/S Explorer didn’t leave the ship until all the passengers were safely moved on the lifeboats. 

The Explorer is a cruise ship for Regent Seven Seas Cruises. She was built in 1969 and is owned by Toronto-based Gap Adventures. The cruise ship was currently operating in voyages to Antarctica, with a small number of guests per trip – 198 maximum.

"She's got 100 passengers on board -- the other 54 are crew members. All the passengers and crew apart from the master and chief officer have now abandoned the vessel on lifeboats," said Cattrell.

He added that the vessel’s hull was severely damaged after a collision with an unspecified object. Many suspect it was and iceberg.

Another vessel the "Antarctic Dream," is on its way to take part at the rescue operation.
The "Antarctic Dream" was approximately an hour away and the next step of the operation will be carried out when the vessel will arrive at the scene. The cruise ships usually take their passengers to that region so they can see the icebergs along with other Antarctic natural features.