The first passengers of the cruise ship, The Explorer, which
sank in the Antarctic Ocean Friday night arrived to Punta Arenas at the
southern tip of South America on Saturday, onboard of the first the flight
between King George Island and Chile.
According to GAP Adventures, the owner of The Explorer, 75
passengers and 2 staff crew members were onboard of the first flight, while 11
passengers and 66 staff and crew remain on King George Island and, weather
permitting, will be flown to Punta Arenas tomorrow.
One passenger has reported a sore foot and has been taken to
the hospital as a precautionary measure, GAP Adventures reported.
Representatives from the consular offices of Australia, Britain,
Canada and the United States are on the ground in Punta Arenas working with
G.A.P Adventures staff to assist passengers.
GAP Adventures did not comment on whether passengers would
receive compensation, saying it was concentrating on their immediate needs.
Also a GAP representative confirmed that The Explorer sank
around 75 miles north of the Antarctic Peninsula.
The passengers and crew were evacuated on Friday from the
2,400- ton vessel, after it ran into trouble near the South Shetland Islands in
the Antarctic Ocean, and began to sink. They
were first put on rigid and rubber lifeboats and then taken to the Norwegian
ship Nord Norge.
"We were passing through ice as usual. ... But this
time, something hit the hold and we got a little leakage downstairs," the
Explorer's first officer, Peter Svensson, said.
During the Explorer's last safety inspection, which took
place in May in Greenock, Renfrewshire, the UK officials from the Maritime and
Coastguard Agency found five deficiencies. These included missing search and
rescue plans and lifeboat maintenance problems. Watertight doors were described
as "not as required" and fire safety measures were criticized.
Chilean port state control inspectors in March also found
six deficiencies, two of which related to navigation safety.
According to Susan Hayes of G.A.P. Adventures of Toronto,
the ship had been issued with a safety certificate as recently as October 21.
