All the passengers have been rescued from a cruise ship that ran aground off the Alaska coast, CNN reported on Monday.

Rescuers succeeded in transferring all the passengers to fishing vessels and other cruise ships in the area, the report quoted Coast Guard officials as saying.

The Empress of the North, carrying 281 passengers and crew, was listing 8 degrees after hitting a rock at the southern end of Icy Strait off the Alaska coast.

There were no immediate reports of injuries. It remained unclear why the cruise ship ran aground, said the report.

A Coast Guard aircraft and helicopter took part in the rescue operation after the ship sent out an emergency radio message soon after running aground early Monday.

assengers of the cruise ship "Empress of the North" (top) are offloaded after running aground off the Juneau, Alaska coastline May 14, 2007. The cruise ship with 281 people on board hit a reef off Alaska and started taking on water early on Monday but all passengers were evacuated safely, the U.S. Coast Guard said. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Editor: Yan