At least 64 killed in Madagascar shipwreck, 2 missing in rescue helicopter crash
- A wooden vessel – believed to be a cargo boat not authorised to carry passengers – came to grief early on Monday with an estimated 130 people on board
- Within hours of the disaster, a police helicopter helping with search and rescue crashed at sea; two crew members survived by swimming for nearly 12 hours to reach land
Madagascar reeled on Wednesday from a double tragedy in which at least 64 people died in a shipwreck, according to an updated toll, while two people remained missing from a helicopter that crashed during a search for survivors.
A wooden vessel – believed to be a cargo boat not authorised to carry passengers – came to grief off the island’s northeastern coast early on Monday with an estimated 130 people on board.
“Twenty-five bodies were found this morning near Sainte-Marie island, probably due to sea currents, which brings the death total to 64,” gendarmerie general Zafisambatra Ravoavy told Agence France-Presse.
Five children are among the dead, according to the authorities.
Fifty passengers have been rescued, while the search continues for 15 missing.
The vessel had set off from the village of Antseraka, heading for Soanierana-Ivongo, about 100km (60 miles) to the south.
Initial investigations suggested the vessel’s engine had a “technical problem”, according to Adrien Fabrice Ratsimbazafy of the River and Maritime Port Agency (APMF).