60 Migrants Feared Drowned As Boat Capsizes

A small boat carrying migrants has capsized off Guinea-Bissau, a port official said, adding that the vessel may have had more than 60 people on board when it set off.

Commander Siga Batista said the pirogue, a narrow wooden fishing vessel, sank on Monday night off the impoverished West African country, which has 200 km of coastline and no patrol ships to save lives on the high seas.

“An overloaded pirogue, transporting illegal migrants, capsized in our waters,” Batista said by telephone, saying that the fisheries surveillance department had alerted him to the disaster.


“We don’t know how many people were on board when the boat sank, nor their identity or even their nationality. But according to information that has reached me there were more than 60 people on board the pirogue,” Batista added.

No survivors have been found but local radio stations have asked fishermen to tell authorities if they spot any bodies or passengers still alive.

“Due to the financial situation, we have had difficulty organizing a rescue operation,” Batista said.