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| Britons injured by Arctic glacier | Britons injured by Arctic glacier |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| A group of British holidaymakers were injured on a sightseeing ship in the Arctic when ice fell from a glacier. | |
| A total of 18 passengers were injured, two seriously, at the glacier off the Svalbard Islands, 500km (310 miles) north of Norway. | A total of 18 passengers were injured, two seriously, at the glacier off the Svalbard Islands, 500km (310 miles) north of Norway. |
| Ice hit the deck of the luxury vessel, where passengers had gathered, and fell into the sea causing the ship to list. | |
| Four of the injured were flown to a hospital on the Norwegian mainland and 14 were taken to a local hospital. | Four of the injured were flown to a hospital on the Norwegian mainland and 14 were taken to a local hospital. |
| Jan Tommervold, a deputy sheriff on Svalbard, said the Alexey Maryshev, a Russian research vessel converted into a luxury sightseeing boat, was hit by the ice late Wednesday. | |
| Passengers 'thrown' | |
| Police said the ship had sailed close to the towering Horn glacier at Svalbard for a better look when ice broke off and hit the vessel's side and deck, where some passengers had gathered. | |
| "The Russian captain said they were tight into the Horn glacier when it calved," said another deputy, Petter Braathen. He said blocks of ice crashed into the water near the ship causing it to be tossed back and forth by the waves "throwing" the passengers around. | |
| The 66ft-long (216 metres) ship returned to port under its own power and was awaiting a possible investigation. | |
| We have been operating since 1982 and this is our first accident... so this is serious Ko de Korte Oceanwide Expeditions | |
| Mr Braathen said sightseeing ships routinely sailed close to the glaciers but added they did not go as close as the Alexey Maryshev. | |
| Ko de Korte of Oceanwide Expeditions, the Dutch Company which operates the ship, said by there were 72 people aboard, including 50 British passengers and 22 crew and staff. | |
| "The company director is on his way," he said. | |
| "We have been operating since 1982 and this is our first accident... so this is serious." | |
| The Svalbard Islands, which are about 1,000km (620 miles) from the North Pole, are a popular tourist destination during the summer, with about 20 similar ships cruising the region in season. | |
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