Ship sinks off Madagascar coast; 17 dead and 68 missing

By LAETITIA BEZAIN
Associated Press

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar (AP) — A cargo ship illegally carrying 130 passengers sank off Madagascar’s northeastern coast, killing at least 17 people and leaving 68 missing. The Maritime and River Port Agency said in a report Monday that at least 45 people have been rescued from the waters of the Indian Ocean. The report said the ship, the Francia, had left the city of Antanambe, in the eastern Mananara North district in the early hours of Monday and it was heading south toward the port of Soanierana Ivongo. Jean Edmond Randrianantenaina, director-general of the Maritime and River Port Agency, said that as the Francia was registered as a cargo ship, it was not authorized to carry passengers and Antanambe is not an official port.