NEWS REPORTS are extracted from various sources -
Malaysian, Singapore, UK, Australian Newspapers, BBC, CNN and Reuters to name but a few .....

All saved as liner sinks

"All passengers and crew have been saved without any casualties," said a spokesman for Singapore-based Sembawang Shipmanagement Private Ltd. Holidaymakers from at least 20 countries were on board, including the United States, Australia, Germany, Belgium, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Spain and Switzerland.
"The liner now lies 60m below the sea" Maritime rescue officials say there was no loss of life because there was plenty of time for the crew and passengers to abandon the ship and the weather was good.
The liner, described as a top class floating hotel, was returning to Singapore after a six-day cruise to Malacca, Penang and Phuket when the accident happened. According to the marine police, a fire broke out in the engine room which quickly burned out of control. Shocked survivors were taken to the Malaysian island of Penang Survivors said they were having tea when there was a power cut and the captain then ordered them to abandon ship. In a state of confusion and panic, they scrambled overboard into lifeboats.. At least 10 people taken to hospital, most of them elderly or suffering from shock. Briton Thomas Bonnard, 62, described conditions during the evacuation, saying: "The captain did not tell us about the fire. All the crew members looked panicky."
Ram Yalamanchi, 32, from India, said: "It was a true nightmare, I thought we all were going to die. We were on one of the last lifeboats, we watched her just slip under the water. "People were screaming, praying, it was awful, the most terrifying experience of my life."
The passengers and crew abandoned ship in 18 lifeboats and four liferafts. The last of them were rescued after about two hours in the water. Lisa Holland reports: "Passengers had to spend several hours in lifeboats"
The passengers, many of whom lost all their belongings in the sinking, are being looked after at three different hotels on the island of Penang. A spokesman for the marine police in Penang said the cause of the fire was not known. The Sun Vista now lies 60m under the sea in the Straits of Malacca - one of the world's busiest shipping routes.