Map locates the site of a passenger ship sinking in Antarctica; 1c x 2 1/4 inches; 46.5 mm x 57.2 mm
The passenger ship MV Explorer in this undated file photo made available from Museum of Uusikaupunki, Finland, which is reported to be sinking following a collision in Antarctic waters Friday Nov. 23, 2007. No injuries are reported aboard the Explorer, and more than 150 passengers and crew are believed to have evacuated the ship, into lifeboats. The ship which was former named Lidblad Explorer was built in 1969 in Uusikaupunki Shipyard, Finland. The Explorer was purpose-built as an expeditionary vessel, designed to literally go where no passenger ship has gone before. (AP Photo / Museum of Uusikaupunki via Lehtikuva)
"We believed it has been hulled, it has a hole the size of a fist and some cracking in the hull of the ship, it's taking water and it's listing about 21 degrees," Caygill told AP Radio.
"There has been some information coming back that it may have hit an iceberg but it has not been confirmed."
It was unclear whether the vessel would sink, Caygill said.
There was a lot of ice in the area, but the vessel was built to withstand ice, said another Coast Guard spokesman Mark Clark. (But, if the vessel was being crushed between ice flows that is far greater pressure than being 'bumped' by an iceberg.)
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said it was informed at 12:24 a.m. EST of the incident involving the 2,646-ton vessel Explorer.
The incident was reported near the South Shetland Islands and Graham Land, an Antarctic peninsula, the Coast Guard said.
Rescue centers in Norfolk, Va., and Ushuaia, Argentina, were taking charge of coordination, the Coast Guard said.
It was believed the passengers included 22 or 23 British citizens, and undetermined numbers of Americans and Canadians, the Coast Guard said.
"There has been some information coming back that it may have hit an iceberg but it has not been confirmed."
It was unclear whether the vessel would sink, Caygill said.
There was a lot of ice in the area, but the vessel was built to withstand ice, said another Coast Guard spokesman Mark Clark. (But, if the vessel was being crushed between ice flows that is far greater pressure than being 'bumped' by an iceberg.)
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said it was informed at 12:24 a.m. EST of the incident involving the 2,646-ton vessel Explorer.
The incident was reported near the South Shetland Islands and Graham Land, an Antarctic peninsula, the Coast Guard said.
Rescue centers in Norfolk, Va., and Ushuaia, Argentina, were taking charge of coordination, the Coast Guard said.
It was believed the passengers included 22 or 23 British citizens, and undetermined numbers of Americans and Canadians, the Coast Guard said.
