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1,600 escape cruise sinking

By TIMES WIRES
Published April 7, 2007

SANTORINI, Greece - Passengers climbed down rope ladders to rescue vessels after a cruise ship struck a Mediterranean reef Thursday, fleeing on warships, helicopters, planes and fishing boats before the Sea Diamond sank Friday.

Nearly 1,600 people, including North Carolina high school students, were retrieved from the Greek ship in a three-hour rescue. Just two people were missing Friday. But some passengers complained of an insufficient supply of life vests, little guidance from crew members and being forced into a steep climb to safety.

More than a dozen commercial ships were involved in the rescue effort, along with six navy rescue helicopters, two military transport planes and four warships.

Navy divers searched the sunken wreckage Friday for a Frenchman and his daughter who disappeared after the vessel foundered - the only two people missing despite what passengers described as a chaotic evacuation.

"The crew members were more scared than we were," said Lizbeth Mata, 15, a native of the Dominican Republic vacationing with her parents and brother. Mata said some crew members left before passengers: "They were yelling and screaming - didn't know what to do."

'We're going down'

The 469-foot Sea Diamond left the port of Piraeus on Monday for a five-day island cruise and should have returned Friday, Reuters reported. Instead it struck rocks Thursday in the sea-filled crater formed by a massive volcano eruption 3,500 years ago off the island of Santorini.

"A lot of us were taking pictures from when we were coming into Santorini. All of a sudden, there was this big jolt," said Catherine Small, 17, one of more than two dozen students from North Carolina on board.

"The ship was really far tilted. It was actually kind of freaking us out - scary," said Small, who attends Chapel Hill High School.

The Canadian Press reported high school students from Alberta evacuated so quickly they didn't have money or passports.

Tourists gathered on clifftops to watch the rescue at the reef, which is marked with warning lights and clearly indicated on navigation charts. The ship sank about a quarter-mile off the coast, in waters of uneven depth, shortly before it was to dock.

David Land, 17, of Middle Creek High School in Apex, N.C., called his mother several times. Deniece Land of Raleigh, N.C., said "they had been around Greece and Athens and were coming back from Turkey. He called ... and he said, 'This ship is taking on water and we're going down.' I said, 'Don't play with me.' He said, 'I have a life vest on.' "

'Latest navigation'

Louis Cruise Lines, the ship's operator, said the 21-year-old vessel had been well maintained.

"The vessel maintained the highest level of safety standards and was equipped with the latest navigation systems," spokesman Giorgos Stathopoulos said.

The cruise line said there were 730 Americans, 112 Spaniards, 100 French and other foreigners on board, including Germans, Britons and Australians, plus 390 crew, according to Reuters.

The captain and five officers were summoned to appear at a public prosecutor's office on the island of Naxos to make a formal declaration of events.

State-run NET television said that investigators believed most of the damage was done before the captain issued the distress signal, when he was trying to maneuver away from the rocks.

Tourism Minister Fani Palli Petralia said passengers would be housed in Santorini hotels and return on chartered ships to Athens' main port of Piraeus.

Family's cabin flooded

The missing French passengers were identified as Jean-Christophe Allain, 45, and his 16-year-old daughter, Maud, from Doue-la-Fontaine.

Minister Fanny Palli Petralia, who spoke with Allain's wife, said the family's cabin filled with water when the ship hit the reef.

"She was not sure whether her husband and daughter made it out because things happened so suddenly ... in a few seconds. Her other child was up on deck."

Australian passenger Katie Sumner described chaos.

"All of our glasses were sliding everywhere and our warning that the ship was sinking was some of the staff running down the corridor screaming out, 'Life jackets!' and banging on doors"

Information from the Associated Press, Canadian Press and Reuters was used in this report.

Fast Facts:

Cruise accidents

Dec. 17, 2000: The Sea Breeze I sinks following engine failure 200 miles east of Cape Charles, Va. No passengers are aboard the ship, which is sailing from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Charleston, S.C. All 34 crew members are saved.

Aug. 4, 1991: Luxury Greek liner Oceanos sinks off the coast of South Africa when the engine room floods. The 571 people on board are rescued.

Aug. 31, 1986: The Admiral Nakimov, a Soviet cruise ship carrying 1,234 passengers to a holiday resort, collides with a cargo vessel twice its size and sinks into the Black Sea 8 miles off the port of Novorossysk. Seventy-nine people are killed, 836 are rescued and 319 people are never found.

Feb. 16, 1986: The Soviet cruise ship Mikhail Lermontov sinks in 100 feet of water off the northern tip of New Zealand's South Island after hitting a reef. One of the 330 crew members dies, but the rest of the crew and all 409 passengers, mainly elderly Australians, are evacuated.

[Last modified April 7, 2007, 02:09:54]