Two dead as boat capsizes

A boat capsized and sank off the northern coast of Sierra Leone, and at least two people died while another 21 were missing, officials said today.

The boat had been travelling from the West African country’s capital, Freetown, to the northern town of Kassiri yesterday when it capsized off the mouth of the Little Scarcies River at Bailo Point, said Mustapha Kamara, assistant superintendent of police in the district.

Navy teams rescued eight people and recovered two bodies from the water, but they were searching for 21 people still missing, said Lt. Cmdr Mohammed Mansaray, stationed at the navy headquarters in Freetown.

No other details were immediately available, and neither official could say how many passengers had been aboard the vessel when it sank.

Tungi Coker of the Sierra Leone Maritime Administration cited a local boat owners association as saying there were 27 passengers aboard and only two had been rescued.

It was not immediately possible to reconcile the conflicting figures.