Carnival-Owned Costa Allegra Being Towed To Seychelles
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Eight Americans are among the more than 600 passengers aboard the Costa Allegra who are sleeping on the decks of the crippled cruise ship, without power and under tow after a fire damaged the engine room Monday. The ship is owned by Doral-based Carnival Cruise Lines.
The ship, with more than 100 passengers and crew aboard, is being towed to the Seychelles Islands by a tuna boat and a pair of tugboats, and is expected to arrive late Wednesday or early Thursday.
A spokesperson for Costa's office in Hollywood confirmed the Americans were aboard, but could not identify them, saying that Costa does not share personal information about its guests.
The ship had no power after the fire heavily damaged the engine room. Passengers were taken on deck for their own safety, and helicopters are bringing supplies and food aboard.
The lack of water has made much of the food aboard unusable.
No passengers were hurt, and the fire, contained to the engine room, was put out by crew members in a matter of hours, but the fire left the craft dead in the water.
French fishing boat Trevignon started towing the ship Tuesday. A second fishing boat is headed toward the ship. The boats are designed to pull heavy nets and are expected to have no trouble pulling the cruise ship.
Indian naval aircraft flying overhead early Tuesday saw passengers around the cruise ship's swimming pool.
The ship is owned by Costa Cruise Lines, a subsidiary of Carnival Cruise Lines. Costa and Carnival were rocked by the grounding and sinking of the Costa Concordia last month off the coast6 of Italy, where more than 30 people died.
Efforts are still underway to remove fuel from the ship and salvaged the half sunken hull, which is believed to still contain the bodies of missing passengers.
Costa said all 636 passengers and 413 crew members were in good health.
"Guests onboard are continuously informed and assisted by the captain and the staff onboard," the company said in a statement. Carnival, as owner of Costa, has yet to make a statement.
The ship was on its way from Madagascar to the Seychelles, a chain of more than 100 islands.
