VICTORIA, Seychelles -- Tired passengers left a crippled Costa cruise ship in the Seychelles capital Victoria on Thursday, ending a three-day ordeal in the Indian Ocean after a fire knocked out the vessel's main power supply.
The Costa Allegra suffered an engine-room fire on Monday which disabled its engines in waters prowled by pirates.
The ship is owned by the company whose giant liner Costa Concordia smashed into rocks off Italy and capsized last month, killing at least 25 people.
The passengers said they had prepared to abandon ship when fire broke out in the engine room three days ago, leaving the vessel adrift in waters prowled by pirates.
But the fire that broke out Monday was brought under control and the more than 1,000 people wound up staying aboard the Costa Allegra, which suddenly had no engine power, no air conditioning, no lights and no running water for showers or toilets.
A French tuna fishing boat towed the Costa Allegra for three days toward the port in Victoria, where a line of ambulances, a Red Cross medical team and a fleet of small buses was waiting.
Passengers lined the railings and a few began to clap as the vessel drew close to the crowded dock Thursday morning.
-- msnbc.com news services
