LONDON , England ( CNN ) -- More than 150 people have abandoned a sinking cruise liner that collided with an iceberg in Antarctic waters , a Chilean navy captain told CNN . The ship sent out a distress call at around 10 p.m . ET Thursday . 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 . He added a Norwegian rescue ship had arrived at the scene . Tour companies describe the Explorer as a passenger ship which runs tours between South America and Antarctica . Some 154 people are reported to be on board ship , which carries a Liberian flag , including 100 passengers . However the nationalities of those on board is not yet known . Passengers and crew have been evacuated onto lifeboats , but the captain and the first officer are reported to have stayed on board . `` The great majority of people , including all the passengers , have been safely taken off the Explorer and are now being recovered by the first of the vessels to arrive on scene in response to the distress call , '' Dave Jardine-Smith , head of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency 's ( MCA ) search and rescue team in England said . `` The passengers and crew from the Explorer have not been in lifeboats very long , '' Jardine-Smith said . `` They should be , hopefully , in good condition . We are told that there are no injuries . '' Earlier , Mark Clark , a spokesman for the MCA told the Press Association five ships were on their way to help the sinking vessel . `` She hit something and is taking on a serious amount of water , that is all we know . '' The temperature in the area is said to be at around minus 5C , with a sea temperature at around minus 1C , forecasters told the Press Association . Stephen Davenport , senior forecaster with MeteoGroup , said : '' It would n't take long for hypothermia to set in at that kind of temperature in the sea . `` They do get very bad storms down that way , and gale force winds especially , because there is no land in the way , '' he told PA. Lt. Matt Alex from the US Coast Guard Atlantic Area command center said the boat is owned by Gap Adventures , based in Toronto , Canada . E-mail to a friend . Copyright 2007 CNN . All rights reserved.This material may not be published , broadcast , rewritten , or redistributed . Associated Press contributed to this report .
150 passengers evacuated from a ship after it struck object in Antarctic waters . Ship , named Explorer , was expected to sink , British coastguards said . Passengers in lifeboats , captain and first officer remain on board .