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Kenya boat capsize near Lamu 'kills six' | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
A passenger boat has capsized off the Kenyan coast, killing at least six people and leaving several more missing, officials say. | |
Some 25 people have been rescued and 23 have swum to shore, according to the Kenya Red Cross. | |
The exact number of passengers on board is not known as records were not kept but some reports say there were 70. | |
The boat capsized on Sunday night as it sailed from the resort of Lamu, close to the mainland border with Somalia. | |
More than 20 other passengers were initially feared missing, but a Red Cross spokesman in Lamu told the BBC the final figure may be lower. | |
"We expected the relatives of the missing persons to come and register their names. But only one person has come to register two missing," said Mohammad Abdul Qadir. | |
He said he had seen six bodies, while he had been told that a seventh person had been buried straight away according to Muslim tradition. | |
Fifteen people pulled from the water were admitted to hospital, the Red Cross says. | |
Lamu West deputy police chief Joseph Sigei told the BBC's Network Africa programme that there was little hope of finding any more survivors. | |
He said the accident occurred when the boat's pilot tried to avoid colliding with another vessel. | He said the accident occurred when the boat's pilot tried to avoid colliding with another vessel. |
He said the boat was going to Mokowe, ferrying passengers to get a bus to Mombasa. | He said the boat was going to Mokowe, ferrying passengers to get a bus to Mombasa. |
Similar accidents in the past have been blamed on boats being overloaded. |