Race to save Russian crew in lifeboats as fishing boat is holed by iceberg

Rescue ships are racing to save a Russian crew who have taken to lifeboats after their fishing ship hit an iceberg.

The stricken Sparta is listing at 13 degrees in waters in the Ross Sea near Antarctica with a 5ft (1.5metres) gaping hole in the hull below the waterline.


But vessels speeding towards it are being hampered by heavy sea ice and are unlikely to reach the the area - about 2,000 nautical miles southeast of New Zealand - for four to five days.     More Read