ATHENS, April 5 (RIA Novosti) - A cruise ship with 1,195 passengers and 391 crew onboard is reportedly taking on water after colliding with a rock off the Greek coast, local state television said Thursday citing the crew.
"The hull of the ship has a breach in it, and water is flooding onto the second and third decks. The ship is listing to the right," a television correspondent reported from a port on Santorini Island, about 0.5 mile from the cruiser, Sea Diamond.
A Coast Guard officer said passengers were being evacuated in lifeboats. Television said Greece had sent seven helicopters, two military transport airplanes and two frigates to rescue the people and the ship. A team of doctors from Athens is also heading for the site, although no victims have been reported.
The head of the Russian Embassy's consular department in Greece, Viktor Kolupayev, said the embassy was checking whether any Russian citizens were aboard.
