Santiago de Compostela, Spain  - Spanish police were Wednesday investigating the killing of the captain of an Italian freighter off north-western Spain, police said.

A fight broke out between a crewman and the 50-year-old captain, who was stabbed to death Wednesday morning while MS Paxi C was travelling from Alexandria to Gijon in northern Spain.

The crew informed a Spanish maritime rescue service of the incident, and the ship was ordered to head for the Spanish coast, where police went on board.

The victim and the suspect were Italian nationals. (dpa)