Tugs tow crippled cruise ship to Mexican port

Tijuana, Agency
The cruise ship Carnival Splendor is being towed to the northwestern Mexican port of Ensenada after a fire crippled the vessel, authorities said Tuesday.

The vessel is expected to arrive "at midday" at the port with its more than 4,100 passengers and crew on board, harbor master Carlos Humberto Carrillo Ufforc told reporters.

In Ensenada, an "operation to support tourists" has been planned to handle immigration issues and provide medical attention before they are transported in buses to the United States.

Capt. Carrillo said that the passengers and crew "are doing well," a statement corroborated to Efe by Rear Adm. Luis Vergara Ibarra, a spokesman for the Mexican navy, which is escorting the Carnival Splendor to port.

The 113,000-ton vessel with a capacity for 3,299 passengers, departed two days ago from Long Beach, California, on what was to have been a week-long cruise along the northwestern Mexican coast, a journey that would have included stops in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas.

Apparently, the fire occurred when the cruise ship was about 150 miles south of San Diego and due west of Punta San Jacinto, Mexico.

Engineers evidently managed to partially restore electric power to the ship, Miami-based Carnival Cruise lines said.

The tourism secretary for Baja California state, Juan Tintos Funke, announced that the tourists will be transported to the United States by road in an operation involving at least 80 buses and supported by the Federal Police and municipal cops from Ensenada, Rosarito and Tijuana.

They will cross into the United States at the Otay Mesa port of entry, which is located at San Diego.