Rescue helicopters are airlifting 1,300 passengers from a cruise ship that suffered an engine failure in windy weather off the coast of Norway on Saturday, said police and rescue services.

The Viking Sky was drifting towards land and had sent out a mayday signal, said the country's maritime rescue service.

Passengers were hoisted one by one from the deck of the ship and airlifted to a village located to the north of the town of Molde on the Norwegian west coast. About 100 people had been evacuated by 4:30 pm CET.