Hot and tired passengers disembarking from a disabled cruise ship in the Seychelles said they had prepared to abandon ship when fire broke out in the engine room three days ago.

Helicopters ferried food, phones and flashlights to more than 1,000 passengers and crew stuck aboard a disabled cruise ship being towed to the Seychelles Islands through waters prowled by pirates.

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

The Costa Allegra cruise liner, stranded in the pirate-infested Indian Ocean after a fire aboard, is stable and upright while being pushed by the current, officials said.