Italian swine flu liner docks in France

PARIS, July 31 (Reuters) - A cruise ship carrying dozens of victims of swine flu among its 5,000 passengers and crew docked in France on Friday on its way from the Italian port city of Naples to Marseille, French authorities said. Sixty crew members were diagnosed with the H1N1 virus, and 70 more crew members showed signs of the disease, local authorities said in a statement on Friday.

People infected with swine flu are being treated and will stay on board of the "Voyager of the Seas" liner, which docked at Villefranche in southern France on Friday morning and will resume its journey on Friday evening.

All other crew members will also stay on board, though the passengers -- 3,600 people -- will be allowed to go on land during the day.

There have been more than 1,000 confirmed cases of swine flu in France, and the World Health Organisation said earlier this month the virus was still spreading quickly and affecting older age groups spared earlier in the outbreak.

On Thursday, French authorities said a 14 year-old girl infected with H1N1 had died, the first recorded death in France of anyone with the virus.

But they said the girl was suffering from a number of other very serious conditions and it was not clear whether her death had been caused by the flu virus. (Reporting by Sophie Hardach)