FACTBOX

Genoa - The crippled cruise ship Costa Allegra, with 636 passengers and 413 crew on board, was being towed to the Seychelles main island on Tuesday after an engine room fire knocked out its power in the Indian Ocean. The vessel’s sister ship, the Costa Concordia, capsized off the coast of Italy last month killing at least 25 people. Here are details of some other recent cruise ship accidents:

CRASHES: COSTA EUROPA. The liner slammed into the pier in February 2010 as its captain tried to dock at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt in high winds. Three crew were killed and four passengers were injured. The Costa Europa had been on an 18-day cruise from Dubai to Savona and had over 1,400 passengers on board.
COSTA CONCORDIA. In 2008, the giant Italian vessel hit the dockside in Palermo, Sicily, in bad weather, causing damage to the bow.

POWER FAILURE: COSTA CLASSICA. A power failure was blamed for the Costa Classica smashing into a cargo vessel in Chinàs Yangtze River, injuring three people in late 2010.
QUEEN MARY 2. A power failure hit the QM2 as it approached Barcelona in September 2010. There was a loud explosion and the vessel blacked out. Main power was restored after 28 minutes and the ship was able to resume navigation.

OTHER INCIDENTS: QUEEN MARY 2. In 2003 a gangplank connecting the ship to the dock gave way while the liner was in the French port of St Nazaire. At least 15 people were killed. - In January 2006 Cunard, owners of the QM2, agreed to refund passengers an estimated 10 million pounds after they spent eight days of a South American cruise at sea, missing all the scheduled stops because of mechanical problems.
AURORA liner. Experienced engine failure on her maiden voyage in 2000. In 2003, in the Mediterranean, passengers suffered a rampant stomach virus, affecting some 400 people. In 2005 her engines failed and she was marooned between Southampton and the Isle of Wight. In 2009 the P&O liner was forced to berth in Auckland, New Zealand for six days because of engine problems.
QUEEN ELIZABETH 2. The cruise liner was hit by Norovirus, a vomiting and diarrhoea bug, common in cruise ships, hospitals and prisons. After the Southampton-based ship docked in San Francisco, in January 2007, U.S. officials said 276 passengers and 28 crew had fallen ill