12 would-be migrants drown
2008-07-01 13:05
Libreville - At least 12 would-be illegal immigrants to Gabon died after their small boat sank off the capital overnight on Monday, said an journalist on a Libreville beach on Tuesday where their bodies had washed up.
"They are no doubt illegal migrants whose pirogue (flat-bottom boat) went down offshore and who tried to reach land," police lieutenant Benoit Mapoto said, adding: "It is possible there are others dead."
The 12 bodies - all male, apparently 20 to 40 years old - were spread across a distance of 500 metres. Black plastic bags with personal effects were seen, as was an identity document from Ghana.
A police officer who spoke to witnesses, and who asked not to be named, said that people had been seen landing on the beach about 03:00 to 04:00, suggesting that there had been survivors.
The same officer said that the small vessel "without a doubt set off from Nigeria", at least 450km from Libreville.
Interior Minister Andre Mba Obame said the loss of boatloads of migrants was "frequent" off Gabon, adding that "tens of thousands" seek to enter the oil-producing west African country each year.
The total number of illegal immigrants in Gabon was "no less than 400 000" out of a population of 1.3 million, he said.