Hobbled cruise ship returns to Malaysia

SANDAKAN, Malaysia -- Smiling passengers voiced relief and gratitude after safely leaving a fire-damaged luxury cruise ship that was stranded at sea for 24 hours and limped without air-conditioning into port yesterday.

The Azamara Quest drifted off the southern Philippines with 1,000 people aboard after flames engulfed one of its engine rooms Friday, injuring five crew members. It restored propulsion the next night and reached the harbor of Sandakan city in Malaysia's eastern state of Sabah on Borneo island late yesterday.

Two ambulances came shortly after the ship docked, followed more than two hours later around midnight by a fleet of buses taking passengers to hotels. In the buses, several people appeared tired, but many smiled and one waved to reporters.

Malaysian police and consular officials from countries including the United States, Britain and Canada were present.

"I'm glad I'm safe," passenger Dorothy Irvine, a retired school principal from Toronto, told reporters at a hotel. "The Azamara crew kept us informed all the time and went beyond the call of duty. The captain was phenomenal."

Margaret Whawell, of Melbourne, Australia, said there had been "no panic, no chaos, everything was under control." It was the latest in a series of accidents hitting luxury cruise liners since January, when the Costa Concordia capsized off the coast of Italy, killing 32 people.

"Everything is normal except that it's very hot there because there is no air conditioning," New Zealand Deputy High Commissioner Brian Smythe said before the passengers disembarked.

The fire had been extinguished immediately, but five crew members suffered smoke inhalation, including one who was seriously injured and needed hospital care, the ship's operator has said.

The 11-deck vessel, which features a casino, spa and shopping boutiques, was carrying 590 passengers and 411 crew members. Over one-third, or 201, of the passengers were American, according to lists of passenger and crew nationalities provided by the ship captain to the Philippine coast guard.

The ship's operator is Azamara Club Cruises of Miami.