A French trawler has reached an Italian cruise ship adrift in the pirate-infested Indian Ocean and is towing it to an island, the Seychelles coastguard said today.

The coastguard said authorities were making arrangements for the evacuation of those on board to the island of Descroches - and then their transfer to Seychelles' main island.

The Costa Allegra, carrying more than 1,000 passengers and crew members, began drifting without power yesterday after a fire in its generator room. Officials say the blaze, which was extinguished, caused no injuries.

Two tug boats from Seychelles are expected to reach the cruise ship later and will it tow it back under military escort.

Somali pirates are active in the region but have not been sighted near the ship.

Captain Giorgio Moretti told reporters during a conference call at the Costa Crociere cruise line headquarters in Genoa yesterday that the fire in the ship's generator room had left it without power, knocking out air conditioning and lights.

Capt Moretti said the Allegra was adrift, "and being pushed by currents. It is stable and upright".

The fire occurred only six weeks after one of its sister ships, the Costa Concordia, hit a reef and capsized off Italy, killing 25 people and leaving seven missing, presumed dead.

Both ships are operated by Costa Crociere, which is owned by Florida-based Carnival Corporation.

Tug boats from Seychelles had been steaming to the powerless liner, which is carrying 636 passengers and 413 crew members, but the Italian coastguard officials said last night that the French ocean fishing boat could be the first vessel to reach the stricken liner.

The officials said emergency generators were keeping the ship's command room illuminated and instruments such as its radio functioning. But the rest of the ship was apparently dark as night fell.

Passengers were being kept in the ship's large communal rooms.

The general region where the cruise ship is adrift - off the coast of Tanzania - has seen a rash of attacks by Somali pirates, but they have never hijacked a cruise ship.

Mr Nicastro said armed anti-piracy military personnel were aboard, but there appeared to be no immediate danger of pirates. Attention was being focused on rescue efforts, he said.

Seychelles presidential spokeswoman Srdjana Janosevic said: "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."

Costa Crociere, which is based in Genoa, Italy, said its ship was about 20 miles from Alphonse Island, one of the atolls in the Seychelles.

The Allegra had left northern Madagascar, off Africa's south-east coast, on Saturday and was cruising towards the port of Victoria, Seychelles' capital, when the fire erupted. Costa said the Allegra had been due in Victoria today.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.