The first group of 296 survivors of a fire aboard Argentine icebreaker Almirante Irizar returned Thursday to an emotional homecoming, with relatives cheering and hugging them after their ordeal. A raging fire aboard Argentina's only icebreaker forced crew and passengers to abandon ship off southern Argentina on Tuesday night. Many passed several chilly hours in lifeboats before fishing boats and an oil tanker rescued them early Wednesday, according to AP. Speaking to the survivors who arrived by transport plane at a military base in suburban Buenos Aires, Defense Minister Nilda Garre praised the ship's captain, Guillermo Tarapow, for his handling of the crisis, preventing serious injury or loss of life. «The safety of those aboard comes first and foremost,» Garre said. The fire broke out in the Almirante Irizar's auxiliary generator compartment. Tarapow ordered all aboard to take to the 24 lifeboats after the flames became uncontrollable.
