Couple's Antarctic survival drama

Telford couple, Brian and Gillian Lee after their Antarctic rescue

A couple from Shropshire have told how they were rescued from a cruise liner which hit an iceberg and sank in the Antarctic.

Brian and Gillian Lee from School Grove, Oakengates in Telford were on the M/S Explorer when it began taking on water.

They were picked up by another ship and taken to a remote island for the night before being flown to Chile.

Their daughter, Diane Willets, said they were now waiting to fly home.

Text message

Ms Willets, who is a teacher, said she had no idea there was anything wrong until her 95-year-old grandmother called her and told her what had happened.

She said she then had a worrying few hours until her mother sent her a text message to say both she and her Mr Lee were unharmed.

The Explorer sank on Friday 23 November after being damaged close to the South Shetland Islands.

She had 154 tourists and crew on board, 24 of them British.

Ms Willets said her parents had been flown to Punta Arenas in Chile and were now in Buenos Aires waiting for a flight to the UK.