Passengers and crew evacuated after fire on cruise ship

Hundreds of passengers have been evacuated from a private cruise vessel after a fire broke out in the engine room.

Mega-yacht Le Boréal issued a distress call just after 2am local time when it was near Cape Dolphin, to the north of the Falkland Islands.

Ninety of the 347 passengers and crew were air lifted to safety from life rafts, while the rest were transferred to another ship.

No one was injured during the incident, which happened as the ship travelled from Grave Cove to South Georgia.

A spokesman for Compagnie du Ponant, which owns Le Boréal, said: "As a precaution, all passengers were evacuated from the ship. They will re-embark on L'Austral, who belongs to the Ponant fleet, situated nearby, before being repatriated quickly."

An investigation into the fire has been launched and the remainder of the cruise cancelled.