A damaged cruise ship arrived in port in the island nation of the Seychelles this morning after three days at sea without power.
The Seychelles Red Cross set up several tents to assist any passengers needing help and the British High Commission and the French and Italian embassies were at the port to assist their citizens. Tour operators lined up dozens of buses ready to take passengers to either the airport or a Seychelles resort. The process was expected to take several hours.
The Costa Allegra has been at sea with more than 1,000 people onboard and without electricity since a fire in the generator room on Monday. There are no toilets, showers, lights or air conditioning. The cause of the fire is unknown. A French fishing vessel has been towing the cruise ship to safety.
"It happened in quite an isolated spot so it took quite a while to get back here," said British high commissioner Matthew Forbes as he waited for the boat to dock.
Travel agents were at the port, waiting to help passengers.
"The focus of the operation is to get them a warm meal and a shower," said Guillaume Albert, head of Creole Travel Service. "I think the happy ending is the people coming off the boat."
The average age of passengers is 55 years, he said.
The fire came only six weeks after the Costa Concordia, owned by the same company, hit a reef and capsized off Italy, killing 25 people and leaving seven missing and presumed dead. No one was injured in the fire Monday.
The Allegra, whose Italian name means "merry," or "happy," left northern Madagascar, off Africa's southeast coast, on Saturday and was cruising toward Port Victoria when the fire erupted.
The liner was carrying 413 crew members and 627 passengers, including 212 Italians, 31 Britons and eight Americans and one Irish national.
AP