Stranded cruise liner being towed to Indian Ocean island
An Italian cruise ship that was drifting in the Indian Ocean after an on-board fire was being towed earlier today to a nearby island by a French fishing boat, the Seychelles Coast Guard said.
“The seychelles coast guard can confirm that a french purse seiner vessel reached the location of the Costa Allegra last night and is towing the vessel towards Desroches island,” according to a statement.
Fire broke out in the engine room of the Costa Allegra on Monday, stranding the vessel with more than 1,000 people on-board in the Indian Ocean where Somali pirates have in the past attacked and captured foreign ships.
Emergency crews on-board managed to extinguish the fire after a few hours and nobody was injured, but the passengers were all moved onto the stricken ship’s outer decks to ensure an easier evacuation if needed.
The Costa Allegra is from the same fleet as the much larger Costa Concordia, which crashed into an Italian island in January, in a tragedy that claimed 32 lives.
The Seychelles Coast Guard said two tug boats were expected at the location of the stricken cruise ship later today. “They will be towing the Costa Allegra back to Port Victoria in due course and will be given a protection escort by the Seychelles Coast Guard and the Seychelles People’s Defence Forces Airwing,” the statement added.
The cruise ship’s passengers and crew are from 25 countries, including 135 Italians, among them nine Marines to guard against pirate attacks, 127 French, 97 Austrians, 90 Swiss, as well as nationals from Britain, Germany, Mauritius, Russia, Slovenia and Spain.
The ship was on its way from Madagascar to the Seychelles, an idyllic Indian Ocean archipelago of more than 115 islands.