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.

A cruise ship from the same fleet as the Costa Concordia, on which 32 people died after it ran aground off the coast of Italy last month, is adrift in the Indian Ocean with more than 1,000 people on board following a fire.

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.