After three days at sea without power, the disabled Costa Allegra cruise ship finally reached Victoria, on the island of Mahé in the Seychelles on Thursday, shortly before 11.30 a.m. local time.
The 29,000-ton liner, which was drifting powerless in the Indian Ocean after a fire broke out in the electrical generator room on Monday, had been towed by a French tuna fishing boat and was constantly guarded from possible pirate attack by coast guard vessels.
The liner was carrying 413 crew members and 627 passengers, including 212 Italians, 31 Britons, 13 Canadians and eight Americans.
It was first thought to let people off at the closer atoll of Desroches, but authorities eventually decided to tow the ship to Mahe for technical and security reasons.
None of the hot and tired passengers, who have washed with bottled mineral water and eaten only emergency cold food airlifted by helicopter, had medical issues.
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The frightened passengers had prepared to abandon ship when a fire broke and life boats were lowered.
"We were scared at the thought that we would have to abandon ship with all these children and elderly people in the middle of the Indian Ocean, far from Reunion, the Seychelles and Mauritius," Father Camillo Testa, the liner's Italian chaplain, told Italy's Sky TG24 news channel.
As the situation stabilized, passengers still faced a rough and long ride.
"We had to sleep on deck because there was no air conditioning and the cabins stank, since we couldn't flush the toilets," Alena Daem, a 62-year-old passenger from Belgium, told reporters.
"It was absolutely atrocious. No lights, no toilets. I could hardly sleep up there on deck with so many people all crushed together. It got steadily worse. It was awful," said an 82-year-old French passenger.
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Operated by Costa Cruises, the Italian cruise line that also owns the capsized Concordia, the Allegra, whose Italian name means "merry" or "happy," was on a month-long cruise of the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. The cruise was supposed to end in the Italian port of Savona on March 17.
About 375 people have chosen to continue their vacation taking advantage of the company’s offer of a free 15-day stay in the Seychelles's luxury hotels. The rest will fly to Rome on three planes chartered by Costa Cruises.
Italian prosecutors have opened an investigation into the fire, which according to Costa sources, was most likely caused by an "electrical fault."
"We aren't starting off with any preconceived ideas. Right now we know only that there was a fire," Chief Prosecutor Michele Di Lecce told reporters.
"We have to establish why this fire broke out and determine whether the people aboard were ever in danger," Di Lecce said.
Image: Passengers on the deck as the Costa Allegra is towed to safety. Credit: Indian Navy Via Seychelles Office Of The President.
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