Passengers flee Alaska cruise ship in lifeboats after it runs aground and takes on water

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20070514/cruise-ship-aground

A cruise ship ran aground off the Alaska coast early Monday, and more than 200 passengers were being transferred to life boats and other vessels, Coast Guard officials said. There were no immediate reports of injuries. The Empress of the North had 281 passengers and crew members aboard when it sent out an emergency radio message at 12:35 a.m., the Coast Guard said. When Coast Guard helicopters reached the area, the vessel was listing at the southern end of Icy Strait, about 15 miles southwest of Juneau, and it began taking on water, said Petty Officer Christopher D. McLaughlin at the Coast Guard base in Kodiak.
As the ship's pumps worked to remove the water, the passengers were transferred to fishing vessels and other cruise ships in the area. Those passengers and about 130 others who were taken aboard the Coast Guard cutter Liberty were to be transferred to the Alaska state ferry Columbia and taken to Juneau.