A group of British holidaymakers were among the 100 passengers rescued from a sinking cruise ship in the Antarctic Ocean.

The evacuation of the 2,400-tonne MV Explorer came after it reportedly hit an iceberg and started listing near the South Shetland Islands, hundreds of miles south of Argentina.

The passengers were put into liferafts and transferred to the cruise ship Endeavour and another vessel, the Nord Norge, and were expected to be taken back to the port of Ushuaia on the southern tip of Argentina.

The UK's Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), which confirmed that there were Britons on board the Liberian-flagged MV Explorer, said the vessel's Toronto-based owners GAP Adventures had reported all the passengers were safe.

GAP Adventures said their were 24 British citizens aboard when the incident occurred. They are all safe and well.

The captain and one member of the 54-strong crew were reported to be staying on the vessel and attempting to pump out water.

Temperatures in the area, where the season is late spring, would be around minus 5C.

MCA spokesman Mark Clark said: "There was a lot of ice in the area, but the vessel was built to withstand ice."

The MV Explorer is one of the best-known specialist cruise ships in the world.

It pioneered the market for Antarctic tours, which also take in South Atlantic highlights such as the Falkland Islands and South Georgia.

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