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127 feared drowned

YAOUNDE (Cameroon): A ferry carrying 150 passengers sank off the coast of Cameroon, with only 23 persons rescued and the rest feared dead, officials said on Thursday. The boat was bound for the central African nation of Gabon from a town in Nigeria near the Cameroonian border. First word of the accident came when fishermen found dead bodies floating on Wednesday in Cameroonian waters off the port town of Kribi, said Gregoire Mvombo, a top official in the region. He cited survivors as saying 150 persons from Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coats were onboard. It was unclear what caused the accident and Mr. Mvombo had no more details. Many ferrymasters in Africa pack passengers aboard old or poorly maintained ships in a vast continent with poor road or rail systems. River or ocean routes are used to transport goods to market.

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