News / Africa

27 Survive Nigerian Boat Sinking

Kieve Sani, a survivor on the boat that capsized off the coast, speaks about his ordeal at the Bakor Medical Centre in Calabar, March 20, 2013.
Kieve Sani, a survivor on the boat that capsized off the coast, speaks about his ordeal at the Bakor Medical Centre in Calabar, March 20, 2013.
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VOA News
Nigerian authorities say at least 27 people were rescued from a boat that capsized off southern Nigeria last week.  There were more than 130 people on board, but just nine bodies have been recovered.

Nigerian authorities say they are still searching for survivors from the boat, which sank last Friday some 60 kilometers off the Nigerian city of Calabar.

A local emergency official, Vincent Aquah, said two of the passengers survived by clinging to an empty gas cylinder. 

One of them - Togolese national Kieve Sani - told reporters that the boat sank after its engine failed.

Many of the people onboard were economic migrants heading to Gabon in search of work.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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