Mass evacuation from Baltic ship


It is not yet clear why the ship ran aground



Latvian authorities have begun evacuating hundreds of people from a cruise ship stuck on a sandbank.
So far tugs have failed to free the Bahamas-registered Mona Lisa which ran aground off Latvia on Sunday with nearly 1000 people on board.
Officials say there is no danger to the passengers most of whom are German.
The ship set sail from the German port of Kiel on 1 May for a 10-day Baltic cruise. It had been en route to Riga in Latvia when it hit a sandbank.
A total of 984 people are on board - 651 of them passengers mostly elderly German tourists. Not all of the crew are being evacuated.
It is not yet clear how the 30000-tonne liner came to run aground some 18 km (11 miles) off the Latvian coast in normal weather conditions.



Latvia's Defence Minister Vinets Veldre who is overseeing the operation on board the cruise ship told the BBC the atmosphere was calm and that he would stay behind until the last passengers had been taken to safety.
Six Latvian vessels and one from Sweden are involved in the salvage and evacuation Lena Olbina spokeswoman for the Latvian Coastguard Service told the BBC News website. She said the passengers were being taken to the port of Ventspils about 37km (23 miles) away where they would get medical attention if needed. The German-owned liner is operated by the Lord Nelson-Seereisen German tour company.