Two American tourists who were on a cruise through Antarctica died when a semi-rigid boat in which they were participating in an excursion capsized in the sea, judicial sources reported.
The victims, two men aged 76 and 80 whose identities were not revealed, were traveling aboard the “M/V Word Explorer”, an Antarctic cruise ship of Portuguese origin who makes polar trips for the company “Quark Expeditions” using the city of Ushuaia, in Tierra del Fuego, as its base of operations.
Judicial spokesmen reported that a group of passengers left the ship in a smaller boat, Zodiac type, to make an excursion through the waters of the White Continent.
For reasons that are trying to be established, and that according to the first hypotheses could be due to a bad maneuver or have been very close to the coast in the surf zone, the boat capsized and tourists fell into the icy water.
Most of the people could be rescued alive but the two Americans died.
The Word Explorer returned to Ushuaia at 2:50 in the morning and remains moored in the port, while the incident gave rise to the initiation of a criminal case that is being processed in the Federal Court of the Tierra del Fuego capital, with the intervention of Judge Federico Calvete and the prosecutor Juan Soria.
According to the sources consulted, the summary to collect the testimonies and evidence was left in the hands of members of the Argentine Naval Prefecture (PNA), while autopsies were also ordered on the bodies of the victims.
According to several specialized naval sites, the Explorer is the first of seven expedition ships with polar capabilities from the Portuguese company Mystic Cruises.
The boat is 126 meters long and has a capacity for 176 passengers who travel in cabins with exterior views and in most cases have private terraces.
Among the services offered by the cruise are a jogging track, a small gym, a spa, a solarium with two jacuzzis, an outdoor heated pool, a casino, a shop, a bar, a restaurant, a table games room , a library and a conference room.
