Cruise passengers and crew rescued north of West Australia

Ten passengers and eight crew members from a luxury cruise have been rescued from a remote and uninhabited island off the northern coast of Australia.

Earlier, about 60 other passengers made it to safety after they were forced to abandon zodiac boats grounded off Adele Island about 100km north of the West Australian mainland.

The passengers and guides from Silversea's Silver Cloud ship were taking part in an expedition tour near the island on Thursday afternoon when a fast-moving tide caught the group by surprise.

They were stranded in knee-deep water about four nautical miles from the ship.

About 70 passengers and 10 guides were forced to wade 500m through a coral reef to deeper water where they were met by a flotilla of zodiac vessels sent from the ship to rescue them.

By sunset, most had been rescued and returned to the Silver Cloud where some were treated for minor cuts and abrasions.

The remaining passengers and crew were stranded in darkness for more than four hours while their zodiac vessels were unable to cross an exposed reef until the tide turned about 10pm (local time).

The Silver Cloud has set sail for Talbot Bay to continue its 12-day cruise of the Kimberley region.