Passengers with homeward tickets can leave coronavirus-hit cruise ship - Marseille port

MARSEILLE, France (Reuters) - Passengers who have airline or other tickets for travel back to their home countries will be allowed to disembark from the coronavirus-hit Costa Luminosa cruise ship in Marseille, its port authority said on Thursday.

A port official told Reuters that 639 passengers, including 187 French nationals, would be allowed to leave the ship in small groups, depending on the timing of transport home.

There were more than 1,420 passengers on the liner,including 230 Americans, 168 Italians and 100 Canadians,according to the cruise operator, Italy's Costa Cruises, asubsidiary of Carnival Corp.

(Reporting by Marc Leras; Writing by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Mark Heinrich)