Cruise ordeal passengers set for shore

Passengers aboard a stricken cruise liner adrift off the Mexican coast since an engine room fire on Monday were finally set to reach dry land today after a massive operation by the US military to rescue them.

Almost 3,300 guests and 1,167 crew members aboard the Carnival ship Splendor have been living without hot food or water, and occasionally toilets, for four days in conditions described by Coast Guard officers as "uncomfortable".

A huge airlift of water, sanitary supplies and emergency rations were dropped by US Navy helicopters from the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan early yesterday as tugboats pulled the 113,000-tonne vessel back to port in San Diego, California, 200 miles to the north-west.

The ship was scheduled to arrive there later today, ending an ordeal for passengers that began little more than 12 hours after leaving Long Beach on Sunday on a planned seven-day cruise along the Mexican Riviera.

The engine room blaze was extinguished without injuries, but the resulting loss of power left the Splendor without flushing toilets or running water.

Passengers were asked to move to the upper decks with blankets and pillows to sleep to avoid any toxic fumes from the fire, and were later allowed to return to their cabins when engineers gave the all clear and restored the cold water supply.