FRANCE: French and Spanish rescue aircraft and boats went to the assistance of a cruise ship drifting in the Mediterranean yesterday with more than 700 people on board after a storm knocked out its engines.
The Voyager, en route from Tunisia to Barcelona sent out an SOS after a wave struck the ship and knocked its engines out as it sailed near the Spanish island of Menorca.
The vessel has since been able to start up one of its engines, and it was not considered necessary to evacuate the passengers or crew. Because of the vessel's location, French naval authorities were co-ordinating the operation. Two French planes headed to the scene, and a French maritime patrol aircraft established contact with the craft.
The boat "is in difficulty, not distress, and can still manoeuvre with its own power," said Lieut Eric Wacongne of the French Navy. Officials of the Iberojet company, which runs the cruise ship, said the situation was under control.
- (AP)