Boat Sinks Off West Africa; at Least 84 Drown
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — An overloaded passenger boat sank off the coast of Sierra Leone, drowning at least 84 people, aid workers said Monday.
Bodies washed ashore after the Confidence went down in rough seas Sunday night as it was carrying merchants on its weekly trip from the capital, Freetown, to the neighboring West African nation of Guinea.
The boat was not carrying Liberian refugees, many of whom have fled the fighting in their nearby homeland by sea.
Red Cross worker Habib Kamara said the boat sank with about 210 people aboard as it tried to pull back into the dock.
At least 56 people were rescued. Workers searched Monday for other survivors.
Survivors told Red Cross workers that the boat was overloaded with commercial goods and that they had pleaded with the captain to turn back.
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