All Passengers Of Cypriot Cruise Ship Safe After Collision With Israeli Freighter

All 500 passengers and crew of the Cypriot cruise ship "Salamis Glory" are safe and sound after a collision off Haifa port with an Israeli freighter. The ship was leaving the northern Israeli coastal city of Haifa when it hit the anchored cargo ship "Shelly," which sank following the accident. Eleven of the cargo crew members were rescued but two others were confirmed dead after Israeli forces recovered their bodies. The Israeli authorities have launched an investigation into the circumstances of the collision. Cypriot inspectors and experts will join the probe, the Cyprus News Agency reported.Salamis GloryCypriot officials said all possibilities will be investigated, including the likelihood that there was a problem in the ship's navigation system. The passengers and crew remain on the cruise liner, which is docked at Haifa for the probe. Efforts are underway to repatriate the 500 passengers, only 150 of them are Cypriots. The tourists had just finished a two-day cruise from southern Cypriot port city of Limassol to the holyland -- Jerusalem and Bethlehem.