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Italian ship adrift in Indian Ocean, Seychelles to rescue
Source: Xinhua |
February 28, 2012, Tuesday
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Online Edition
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AS an Italian cruise ship went adrift yesterday in the Indian Ocean following a fire, the Seychelles has sent a rescue team to the site, about 418 km southwest off the island nation.
No injuries nor casualties had been reported among the 636 passengers and 413 crew members, said the ship's operator Costa Cruises, whose Costa Concordia ran aground off Italy last month, leaving at least 25 people dead.
The fire reportedly developed in the engine room of the 187-meter-long Costa Allegra, leaving the cruise ship without power.
Firefighters intervened to extinguish the blaze, company sources said.
The operations center of the Coast Guard in Rome has sent three commercial and two fishing boats to participate in the rescue.
"There are no safety concerns for the ship Costa Allegra off the Seychelles," the Italian consul for the Seychelles, Claudio Izzi, was quoted by ANSA as saying.
"The ship is adrift with no power, but the situation is calm and the captain has assembled the passengers on the decks of the ship," Giorgio Moretti, head of Costa Cruises nautical operations, told reporters.
The ship's condition is stable and there is no risk of it running aground or hitting rocks, said Moretti, adding that thanks to an emergency battery, there is light on the ship.
As there are neither air conditioning nor cooking facilities, passengers will be given bread, water and fruit before a helicopter arrives on Tuesday morning with more aid, Moretti said.
Passengers aboard the ship come from 25 nations and territories. Among them, 127 passengers are from France and 126 from Italy.
The Seychelles coast guard has sent a navy ship and a tug to the troubled Italian cruise liner.
"The coast guard has talked to the Captain of Costa Allegra and sent a navy ship and a tug to the site to assess the situation and provide assistance," Lt Col Georges Adeline, the commanding officer of the coast guard, told Xinhua in a telephone interview.
He said the rescue team may reach the site Tuesday evening as the cruise ship had the accident en route to Victoria, capital of Seychelles, from northern Madagascar.
The ship left the Port of Diego Suarez in Madagascar Saturday and was supposed to reach Victoria Tuesday.
Moretti told reporters that it had not been decided whether the passengers would be transferred to the rescue vessels or stay on the drifting ship until it is towed to shore.
No injuries nor casualties had been reported among the 636 passengers and 413 crew members, said the ship's operator Costa Cruises, whose Costa Concordia ran aground off Italy last month, leaving at least 25 people dead.
The fire reportedly developed in the engine room of the 187-meter-long Costa Allegra, leaving the cruise ship without power.
Firefighters intervened to extinguish the blaze, company sources said.
The operations center of the Coast Guard in Rome has sent three commercial and two fishing boats to participate in the rescue.
"There are no safety concerns for the ship Costa Allegra off the Seychelles," the Italian consul for the Seychelles, Claudio Izzi, was quoted by ANSA as saying.
"The ship is adrift with no power, but the situation is calm and the captain has assembled the passengers on the decks of the ship," Giorgio Moretti, head of Costa Cruises nautical operations, told reporters.
The ship's condition is stable and there is no risk of it running aground or hitting rocks, said Moretti, adding that thanks to an emergency battery, there is light on the ship.
As there are neither air conditioning nor cooking facilities, passengers will be given bread, water and fruit before a helicopter arrives on Tuesday morning with more aid, Moretti said.
Passengers aboard the ship come from 25 nations and territories. Among them, 127 passengers are from France and 126 from Italy.
The Seychelles coast guard has sent a navy ship and a tug to the troubled Italian cruise liner.
"The coast guard has talked to the Captain of Costa Allegra and sent a navy ship and a tug to the site to assess the situation and provide assistance," Lt Col Georges Adeline, the commanding officer of the coast guard, told Xinhua in a telephone interview.
He said the rescue team may reach the site Tuesday evening as the cruise ship had the accident en route to Victoria, capital of Seychelles, from northern Madagascar.
The ship left the Port of Diego Suarez in Madagascar Saturday and was supposed to reach Victoria Tuesday.
Moretti told reporters that it had not been decided whether the passengers would be transferred to the rescue vessels or stay on the drifting ship until it is towed to shore.
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