Kuala Lumpur: A crippled luxury cruise ship
with 1,001 people, including 58 Indians, safely reached a
Malaysian port on Sunday after drifting for 24 hours following a
fire in one of its engine rooms that injured five crew
members.
The Azamara Quest, which had left on a 17-day Southeast
Asian cruise, drifted in southern Philippine waters after a
fire broke out on Friday night.
The ship docked in the port of Sandakan in Malaysia`s
eastern state of Sabah on Borneo island following repairs, the
ship`s operator said.
The fire knocked out its engines and injured five crew
members, including one seriously. They suffered smoke inhalation.
Operator Azamara Club Cruises said five crew suffered
smoke inhalation, but that no passengers were injured.
After crossing from Philippines into Malaysian waters
earlier on Sunday, the liner, travelling at a speed of six
knots, was escorted to Sandakan by a Malaysian patrol boat.
The company has said that the rest of the ship`s voyage
will be cancelled on arrival in Malaysia, the BBC reported.
The 11-deck cruise ship with 590 passengers, mostly
American and European, and 411 crew members, including 58
Indians had yet to enter Malaysian waters off Kudat, said MMEA
Regional Enforcement chief for Sabah and Labuan First Admiral
M Karunanithi when confirming the vessel was heading to
Sandakan.
A British passenger, Deborah Garnett, said dinner was
about to be served when the fire broke out.
"One of the engineers ran up covered in oil, running
through the dining room and smoke filled the dining room and
everybody was evacuated and given life jackets," she said.
PTI
