Cruise Ship Runs Aground Off Latvia Coast
By Associated Press | May 5, 2008
RIGA, Latvia — A cruise ship with 984 people on board ran aground early yesterday in the Baltic Sea, off the northwest coast of Latvia, the coast guard said.
The Bahamas-registered Mona Lisa had embarked from Kiel, Germany, and was destined for Riga when it ran aground on a sand bank about 10 miles from the Latvian coast in the Irbe Strait between Latvia and the Estonian island of Saaremaa.
Coast guard officer Ruslans Kulesovs said rescuers attempted to free the cruise ship, pumping out ballast water to reduce its weight. Three tugboats would then attempt to pull the liner from an undersea sand bank, Mr. Kulesovs said.
