A cruise ship that broke down in rough seas off the Norwegian coast with some 1,300 passengers and crew on board has restarted three of its four engines and will be towed to port, emergency services said Sunday.

"Three of the four engines are now working which means the boat can now make way on its own," emergency services spokesman Per Fjeld said.

The Viking Sky sent out a mayday signal on Saturday, after it began drifting towards land, prompting a huge evacuation operation in which rescue helicopters evacuated passengers and crew to safety. Among those airlifted were believed to many British tourists.

The airlift was continuing in the early morning, Fjeld said.

Nearly 338 of the 1,373 onboard were evacuated by helicopter by early Sunday morning. They were flown to a village just north of the town of Molde, on Norway's west coast.

According to the latest figures from the rescue services, 17 people had been taken to hospital with injuries.