ATHENS (AFP) — Greek rescue crews on Thursday evacuated 278 passengers and 35 crew from a Greek cruise ship that ran aground off the Saronic Gulf island of Poros, near Athens.
The operation was completed in three hours, a merchant marine ministry officer said .
No injuries were reported among the passengers, who include a large group of 103 Japanese, 58 Americans and 56 Russians among other nationalities.
The remainder were Canadian, Indian, Spanish, French, Brazilian, Argentine, Australian and Belgian.
The Greek-flagged ship is believed to have hit a reef three nautical miles from the port of Poros, a small island in the Saronic Gulf an hour's distance from the capital that is popular with tourists.
Winds up to 40 kilometres (25 miles) an hour were blowing in the area at the time.
"The operation (was) somewhat tricky because of the wind," local boatman George Koutsoubos told NET state television.
Six coastguard vessels, a military transport plane and three Super Puma helicopters were dispatched to assist the ship along with several fishing boats from the island.
Four warships from Poros' naval base had also been placed on standby, "ready to intervene in case of need," the ministry said.
Authorities in Greece are particularly sensitive to marine accidents after 80 people died in the sinking of the Greek ferry Express Samina after it hit two reefs eight years ago.
The cruise ship passengers were taken to the local naval base for medical checks, the island's deputy harbourmaster Angelos Kaikos told NET.
The ship, the Georgis, was on a day cruise from Piraeus to the Saronic islands of Aegina, Hydra and Poros.
In April 2007, a larger cruise ship operated by Cyprus-based Louis Hellenic Cruises (LHC), the Sea Diamond, sank near the Aegean island of Santorini after hitting a reef.
Two French tourists were killed in the incident, but some 1,600 passengers and crew were evacuated safely.
The Sea Diamond has left a daunting legacy for the people of Santorini as the ship sank to a depth of 140 metres (450 feet) with much of its fuel still on board, raising fears of lasting pollution.
Its owners have paid for a surface cleanup operation but are refusing to raise the ship because of the depth, warning that the wreck could fall apart and spill the remaining fuel over a wider area.
Greece says it will take legal action to force the Cyprus-based company to pay for a complete pollution cleanup and raise the shipwreck.
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