Many dead and missing after ferry capsizes
At least 17 people drowned and more than 50 were missing after an overcrowded ferry capsized in the Maldives, officials said today.
So far, 99 people had been rescued and search teams were looking for additional survivors.
The ferry was carrying far more than its capacity when a wave overturned it late yesterday, said Captain Ibrahim Afzal, of the Maldives National Coast Guard. He said the total number of passengers on board was still not known.
Hospital officials said the bodies of 10 women and five children, including an infant, had been found.
“The bodies of a man and woman trapped inside the vessel have also been recovered,” taking the death toll to 17, Afzal said.
“Coast guard teams are still searching for survivors,” he said, adding that the death toll was likely to rise.
The passengers were mostly spectators who were travelling back to Thinadhoo island after watching their home team play at a football tournament on a neighbouring island.
Thinadhoo lies about 200 miles south of the capital Male.
Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who is on a private visit to Singapore, has directed a special government team to travel to Thinadhoo.
The Maldives, a popular tourist destination, is a chain of 1,192 coral atolls south west of India with a population of 278,000.
Afzal said there were no reports that foreigners were aboard the vessel.
