Ten people have been ferried by helicopter from a stricken Royal Navy Antarctic patrol ship after it lost power off the tip of south America, the MoD said.

HMS Endurance was in the Straits of Magellan, the narrow channel separating the tip of south America from the islands of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, when its engine room flooded just after 3pm 16th Dec (7pm GMT).

The icebreaker, which spends the southern summer patrolling the south Atlantic and Antarctic, was left without main power or propulsion, the MoD said.

Ten civilians on board, all members of a British film crew, were ferried by a Chilean navy Panther helicopter to the nearby Felix navy lighthouse as a precaution.

There was one minor injury reported during the flooding, the cause of which was being investigated, the MoD added. Power to the rest of the ship was not affected.

An MoD spokesman said the ship anchored in the Straits of Magellan awaiting a tug to tow it to Punta Arenas, Chile's southernmost city.

"The situation has now stabilised and the ship is at anchor. They're now really waiting for the tug to arrive and take them into port," the spokesman said.

"The crew are very highly trained and know exactly what they are doing."

A Norwegian cruise liner and a pilot boat are nearby to assist, if needed.

The Endurance, which is based in Portsmouth but spends seven months of the year in the Antarctic and south Atlantic, still has 122 people on board, including 14 civilians.