Italian cruise vessel Costa Allegra has docked in Seychelles

BBC

The stricken Italian cruise vessel Costa Allegra has docked in the Indian Ocean islands of the Seychelles.

The ship was towed into the main port, Victoria, by a French fishing boat, reports the BBC.

The evacuation of more than 1,000 passengers on board the ship has begun. The process is expected to take several hours.

The ship, which lost power on Monday, is from the same fleet as the Costa Concordia, which capsized off the Italian coast in January, killing 32.

According to Costa Cruises, more than half the passengers from the Costa Allegra will remain in the Seychelles to continue their holiday, reports the BBC's Katy Watson on Mahe, the Seychelles' main island.

The rest will fly to Rome on three planes chartered by the company to get them back home on Thursday and Friday, our correspondent says.

Passengers who are in the weakest medical condition are being brought off first.

Those on board have spent three days without power or hot food, with supplies flown in by helicopter.

The ship has also had no functioning air conditioning. Most of the passengers stayed on deck to benefit from the cooling breeze in the hot weather.

Accommodation is being arranged, but with hotels already busy because the islands are preparing for Carnival, most are expected to fly straight to Italy.

The company which owns the Costa Allegra says it received its regularly scheduled maintenance in dry dock in October 2011.