NI Antarctic survivor due home

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A Belfast man rescued from a sinking liner in the Antarctic is expected to arrive home later.

Raymond King, 67, was one of 154 people on board the M/S Explorer when it struck an iceberg on Friday.

He spent several hours in freezing conditions on a lifeboat before being airlifted to Chile.

Mr King's wife Muriel, who has spoken to him by telephone, said his survival "was absolutely a miracle, there is no doubt about it".

"He said he was standing in his welly boots and his clothes, that is all he had," she said.

<a class="" href="/1/hi/in_pictures/7109630.stm">In pictures: Ship rescue</a> <a class="" href="/1/hi/uk/7109278.stm">Lure of polar extremes</a> "He is in good heart and I think he is looking forward to getting home.

"He had managed to save his pipe, his camera and his watch. He was telling me about how grateful he was to all the Chilean sailors and the engineers who stayed on the boat until the bitter end."

Mrs King said it was a great relief that her husband, a retired headmaster, was safe.

"We lost our son Peter in 1993 after an accident in Donegal and I really couldn't have coped with another tragedy.

"I was praying Raymond would be fine, and when I got a call from my daughter to assure me he was well, I was absolutely delighted."

About half of the shipwrecked tourists and crew were taken to mainland Chile on a military transport plane.

Four Irish people are among the rescued.

The ship sank after hitting an iceberg through the Drake Passage during a "Spirit of Shackleton" cruise - such trips cost upwards of $8,000 (£3,900) per cabin.