2008-05-04 22:22:03 -

RIGA, Latvia (AP) - Latvia's coast guard failed to free a grounded cruise ship carrying nearly 1,000 people, and suspended the rescue operation until early Monday, officials said.
The Bahamas-registered Mona Lisa had embarked from Kiel, Germany, with 984 people on board and was destined for Riga when it ran aground Sunday on a sand

bank about 17 kilometers (10 miles) from the Latvian coast, in the Irbe Strait between Latvia and the Estonian island of Saaremaa.
Latvian Coast Guard Service officials said the ship was not damaged and the passengers, mostly Germans, were safe and not at risk.
Rescuers had hoped to free the liner from the undersea sand bank by pumping out ballast water and pulling it with three tugboats.
However, Coast Guard spokesman Ruslans Kulesovs told The Associated Press that the operation was unsuccessful and would be halted until Monday morning. Rescuers would then try to siphon off the ship's fuel and use the tugboats again, he said.
If that failed, rescuers would have to begin evacuating passengers, Kulesovs said.
Passengers still have full use of the liner's onboard facilities, including access to fresh water, officials said.

The cause of the accident was being investigated. However, weather was not a factor, coast guard spokeswoman Liene Ulbina said, adding that four Latvian ships were at the scene.
The ship has a crew of 237, including three U.S. citizens. The captain is a Greek national, she said.