Cruise ship freed from sandbank off Argentina

BUENOS AIRES, Jan 18 (Reuters) A cruise ship carrying 1,600 mainly Brazilian tourists was stuck on a sandbank off Buenos Aires port for nearly 20 hours before tugboats helped free it today, a port official said.

Pullmantur Cruises' Sky Wonder ship got stuck several kilometres from the port along the vast River Plate, which separates Argentina and neighboaring Uruguay.

Strong winds apparently caused problems for the luxury liner after it set sail from Buenos Aires late yesterday bound for the Uruguayan Atlantic resort of Punta del Este.

The port official, who asked not to be identified, said the ship had been freed at 3:30 pm (local time) from the sandbank after hours of attempts involving tugboats.

A local television station flew a helicopter over the stranded vessel and dozens of vacationers could be seen laughing and waving at the cameras as they sunbathed on deck.

Pullmantur Cruises, Spain's biggest cruise and tour operator, is owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, the world's number 2 cruise group.

REUTERS PKS BST