About 30 feared drowned as boat capsized

CONAKRY: About 30 people were believed to have drowned after an overloaded boat sank off the coast of Guinea, as rescue workers said Saturday they had given up hope of finding survivors.

The pirogue, a flat-bottomed boat used by fishermen and for transport, capsized a few minutes after setting off for Kassa Island, which lies several kilometers from the capital Conakry on Friday.

A paramilitary police officer had told AFP that the boat with a capacity to carry 20 people had 58 people onboard, when it went down in the Atlantic.

Officials at the scene said many women and babies were believed to have been aboard.

Director-general of a Conakry hospital, Dr. Mohammed Awada, confirmed that 27 people were saved whereas eight bodies had been found.

A sixty-year-old survivor, Aissata Camara, said the boat had been carrying large bags of cement and flour.(AFP)