An Egyptian cruise liner, the Helio,caught fire on Saturday morning, but 86 Irish tourists on the boat were rescued safely, the official MENA news agency reported.

    The incident took place in Aswan in southern Egypt where the Luxor-Aswan Nile cruise docked. The fire broke out in the end section of the boat, owned by Travco travel agency, Six fire brigades rushed to the scene, and all tourists were rescued and moved to a nearby hotel, said MENA.

Initial losses were estimated at one million Egyptian Pounds (175,438 US dollars), but there were no losses in human lives or luggage, Travco Director Ashraf Mokhtar said.

The fire damaged the kitchen, the restaurant, eight cabins andthe boat's power engine, he added.

The Egyptian Ministry of Interior has opened an immediate investigation into the causes of the fire, according to the report.

Source: Xinhua