Costa Allegra Cruise Ship Towed to Land After Catching on Fire
Same Company That Owns Costa Concordia Dealing With Second Mishap
A cruise ship owned by the same company as the Costa Concordia, caught on fire off the coast of Italy on Monday and was being towed to land by a French ocean fishing vessel. It is expected to reach land by Thursday.
The ship, known as the Costa Allegra, caught on fire while out on the Indian Ocean off the coast of Tanzania. It is carrying 636 passengers and a crew of 414. Eight Americans are on board.
The cruise liner is without power but has light due to emergency batteries aboard the ship. Passengers were given bread, water, and fruit until a helicopter arrived Tuesday morning carrying additional food, communications devices, and further necessities.
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"The ship is drifting with no power, but the situation is calm and the captain has assembled the passengers on the decks of the ship," Costa Cruises said in a statement on Monday.
There were no injuries or casualties reported in the fire but some initially expressed concern that the ship could be attacked by Somali pirates, who have been known to attack ships in the region.
"If pirates attack, the armed guards on board will respond. But as far as I am aware, no pirates have been sighted in the area," Seychelles presidential spokeswoman Srdjana Janosevic told The Associated Press.
The company Costa Cruises has had a tumultuous start to 2012 with a fatal accident aboard another of its cruise liners, the Costa Concordia.
The Costa Concordia sunk off the coast of Italy on Jan. 13, killing 32 people. Seven bodies remain missing.
The ship was largest Italian cruise ship ever made, costing $570 million to build. It was carrying around 4,200 passengers and crew members when it struck a rock in the Tyrrhenian Sea near the western coast of Italy.
The gash on the side of the ship flooded the engine rooms and caused the ship to capsize just hours after it had left port.
