At least 28 people are still missing after the sinking of a tiny ferry in Gabon on its way from Libreville to Port-Gentil, according to a port authority official who wished to remain anonymous to AFP on Thursday.
Following the passenger ship’s departure, “the crew noticed an intrusion of water between 3:00 and 4:00 am,” the firm Royal Cost Marine wrote on its Facebook page on Thursday.
“The vessel lost control as a result of this intrusion. Passengers are being rescued, authorities have been notified, and rescue personnel are on the site “The business stated.
Six ambulances and a fire vehicle were parked next to each other on the wharf at the Port Mole dock, when the boat with 151 passengers on board departed.
An AFP journalist observed that the first motorized pirogues started bringing back the survivors at noon.
Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze, the prime minister, and Lambert Noel-Matha, the interior minister, are already on the scene.
An AFP correspondent observed that a young woman was transported to an ambulance on a stretcher while being covered with a survival blanket.
A barge belonging to the oil logistics business Peschaud that took part in the rescue saw the disembarkation of further people, to cheers and acclaim.
First aid is being administered to the survivors as they are carried straight to the ambulances, and a tent is being built up to house them.
The anxious families are barred from the area where the stretchers are arranged on the platform. In an effort to see one of their relatives, they are attempting to climb the barriers barring the entrance to the docks.
The families in attendance claim that a crisis cell was established on Thursday morning.
