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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
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| S Leone boat tragedy 'kills 20' | S Leone boat tragedy 'kills 20' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| At least 21 people are missing after a boat capsized in a storm off the Sierra Leone coast, police say. | At least 21 people are missing after a boat capsized in a storm off the Sierra Leone coast, police say. |
| Other reports say 50 died and more than 100 people missing after the accident at the mouth of the Great Scarcies River near the Guinea border. | Other reports say 50 died and more than 100 people missing after the accident at the mouth of the Great Scarcies River near the Guinea border. |
| The motorised canoe had sailed from the capital, Freetown, for the northern town of Kasire on Thursday. | |
| Two people are said to have survived, while seven bodies have been recovered from the water. | Two people are said to have survived, while seven bodies have been recovered from the water. |
| "Members of the Sierra Leone navy, backed by some members of the boat association, left in the early hours for the disaster scene to join local fishermen who have been searching since the tragedy took place," a spokesman for the local boat owners' association, Michael Asuman, told Reuters news agency. | "Members of the Sierra Leone navy, backed by some members of the boat association, left in the early hours for the disaster scene to join local fishermen who have been searching since the tragedy took place," a spokesman for the local boat owners' association, Michael Asuman, told Reuters news agency. |
| It is not clear how many people were on board the boat - accurate lists are rarely kept. | It is not clear how many people were on board the boat - accurate lists are rarely kept. |
| August is the height of the rainy season in West Africa and violent storms are common. | August is the height of the rainy season in West Africa and violent storms are common. |
| The BBC's Umaru Fofana in Freetown says many people, especially traders in Sierra Leone have little choice except to use dug-out canoes to get around and transport their goods. | The BBC's Umaru Fofana in Freetown says many people, especially traders in Sierra Leone have little choice except to use dug-out canoes to get around and transport their goods. |
| He says these are often overcrowded, with little care for passenger safety. | He says these are often overcrowded, with little care for passenger safety. |
| In June, at least 19 people died when a helicopter crashed taking passengers to the airport from Freetown. | In June, at least 19 people died when a helicopter crashed taking passengers to the airport from Freetown. |