Latvian rescuers interrupt efforts to free stranded cruise ship

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 …