ZAGREB, August 14, 2008 (AFP) - A staff mutiny over unpaid salaries left some 200 Turkish cruise ship vacationers stranded in the Croatian port of Split, national radio reported Thursday.

The 10-man crew of mostly Croatian sailors took the action against its Turkish employer over two months of unpaid salaries, the radio reported.

The tourists were due to fly back to Turkey that evening, two days earlier than scheduled, the report added.

The online daily 24Sata.hr (24 hours) said the boat was chartered by the Turkish company Dinamik.

Police told AFP they were unaware of the incident.

The cruise ship left the western Turkish port of Izmir last Saturday and was due to return there a week later, according to 24Sata.hr.

Tourism in Croatia is surging, especially along the Adriatic coast. Croatia's estimated 10 million annual visitors amount to more than double the country's 4.4 million-strong population.