LONDON, England (CNN) -- More than 150 people have abandoned a sinking cruise ship that collided with an iceberg in Antarctic waters, a Chilean navy captain told CNN.
All passengers and crew members have been taken aboard Norwegian cruise ship MS Nord Norge, a spokesman for Gap Adventures, which owns the sinking vessel, said.
Passenger ship Explorer reported problems near the South Shetland Islands, south of Argentina. The area is in a sector of Antarctica claimed by the United Kingdom.
Capt. Carlos Munita of the Chilean navy said they received a distress call from the Explorer, saying the vessel had hit an iceberg around 10 p.m. ET Thursday.
Tour companies describe the Explorer as a passenger ship which runs tours between South America and Antarctica.
Some 154 people were reported to have been on board the ship, which carries a Liberian flag, including 100 passengers.
Nationalities on board include 24 Britons, 17 Dutch, 14 Americans, 12 Canadian and 10 Australians, Gap Adventures said.
Other nationalities include Argentinians, Belgians, Chinese, Danes, French, Irish, Japanese, Swiss, Colombian, Swedes and Germans.
British Coast Guard spokesman Fred Caygill told The Associated Press the ship had a hole "the size of a fist" in the hull.
"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," he said.
