The cruise ship Sea Diamond, with 1156 passengers aboard, is sinking off the coast of the Greek island of Santorini. There are also up to 391 crew. The Greek-flagged Sea Diamond issued a distress signal after running aground and taking on water, according to local news reports. Passengers were reported to be quickly boarding lifeboats and abandoning the ship.
More than a dozen ships and five navy rescue helicopters were helping with the evacuation effort and transferring the passengers safely to Pireaus port. Many of the passengers on board were from Germany, France and the United States.
"Some passengers have already reached the island and no-one has been hurt," an official at the Santorini coastguard told Reuters. "The boat was attempting to moor but ran aground in shallow waters," a local boatman said. "Weather conditions were good, but the ship was taking on water and has listed heavily," he added.
The ship, run by Louis Cruise Lines, left the port of Piraeus on Monday and was due to return on Friday, officials said.
