Cruise ship adrift in seas near Philippines:
Up to 60 Britons believed to be on board Azamara Quest, which is running on emergency power after engine room fire
A cruise ship with up to 60 Britons reportedly on board is drifting in seas south of the Philippines after a fire in one of the ship's engine rooms.
Engineers on board the luxury liner Azamara Quest are working to restore propulsion to the ship after the blaze broke out on Friday afternoon.
A statement from Azamara Club Cruises said the fire was contained to the engine room and was quickly put out and no passengers were injured. But it said five crew members on board the ship suffered from smoke inhalation and one was more seriously injured.
Two coastguard vessels and a patrol boat are expected to reach the liner later on Saturday. The captain mustered all passengers to the assembly stations as a precaution, the company said.
The ship is currently running on emergency power until full power can be restored in the engine room. Engineers have managed to restore power to one of the liner's engines, allowing it to re-establish air conditioning, running water, refrigeration and food preparation, the statement added.
The damage caused by the fire has meant that the rest of the cruise will be cancelled once the ship has arrived in Sandakan in Sabah, Malaysia.
The 17-night tour began in Hong Kong on Monday and was due to finish in Singapore on 12 April.
The incident comes after the Costa Concordia liner ran into a reef and capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio in January leaving 25 people dead and seven more missing and presumed dead.
Six weeks later another Costa cruise ship, the Costa Allegra, was left adrift off the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean after fire broke out on board.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We are aware of the incident and our colleagues in Manila are liaising with the Philippines coastguard who are looking into the matter."
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Up to 60 Britons believed to be on board Azamara Quest, which is running on emergency power after engine room fire
A cruise ship with up to 60 Britons reportedly on board is drifting in seas south of the Philippines after a fire in one of the ship's engine rooms.
Engineers on board the luxury liner Azamara Quest are working to restore propulsion to the ship after the blaze broke out on Friday afternoon.
A statement from Azamara Club Cruises said the fire was contained to the engine room and was quickly put out and no passengers were injured. But it said five crew members on board the ship suffered from smoke inhalation and one was more seriously injured.
Two coastguard vessels and a patrol boat are expected to reach the liner later on Saturday. The captain mustered all passengers to the assembly stations as a precaution, the company said.
The ship is currently running on emergency power until full power can be restored in the engine room. Engineers have managed to restore power to one of the liner's engines, allowing it to re-establish air conditioning, running water, refrigeration and food preparation, the statement added.
The damage caused by the fire has meant that the rest of the cruise will be cancelled once the ship has arrived in Sandakan in Sabah, Malaysia.
The 17-night tour began in Hong Kong on Monday and was due to finish in Singapore on 12 April.
The incident comes after the Costa Concordia liner ran into a reef and capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio in January leaving 25 people dead and seven more missing and presumed dead.
Six weeks later another Costa cruise ship, the Costa Allegra, was left adrift off the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean after fire broke out on board.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We are aware of the incident and our colleagues in Manila are liaising with the Philippines coastguard who are looking into the matter."
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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