Stricken cruise ship with 100 Britons on board reaches port

Luxury liner the Azamara Quest has reached the port of Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia after repairs.

No passengers were injured in the blaze on Friday but five crew members suffered the effects of smoke inhalation.

Crew informed coastguards in the Philippines that its power and propulsion had been restored and that it was moving towards Sandakan.

Azamara Club Cruises, the owners of the ship, said company president Larry Pimentel would meet the passengers and crew in Sandakan.

The Foreign Office said a consular team from the region would be sent to meet the ship when it docked.

The fire was contained in the engine room and was quickly put out, Azamara, which is owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, said in an earlier statement.

The captain mustered all passengers to the assembly stations as a precaution.

The damage caused by the fire has meant that the remainder of the cruise will be cancelled. The company said guests would get a full refund.

The scheduled 17-night cruise had begun in Hong Kong on Monday and was due to finish in Singapore on April 12.

The fire is the latest in a series of problems to hit cruise liners in recent months.

In January, 25 people died, with seven more people missing and presumed dead, after the Costa Concordia liner ran into a reef and capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio.

Six weeks later another Costa cruise ship, the Costa Allegra, was left adrift off the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean after fire broke out on board.