120 passengers evacuated from cruise ship

More than 120 passengers were evacuated today after fire broke out on board their luxury cruise ship.

No-one was injured in the incident, which happened on board the Wind Star off the coast of French Polynesia.

The passengers and crew were transferred safely to a transport ship dispatched from the Tahitian port of Tahaa, said Christian Jouve, of the prefecture in Papeete.

Seventeen crew members stayed on board to try to extinguish the blaze, which broke out in one of the ship’s machine rooms.

The ship, which was sailing towards Bora Bora, is owned by Seattle-based company Windstar Cruises.