13 people are missing from a boat believed to have sunk off Madagascar's Sainte Marie island on Thursday. Several Chinese people were on board, as well as some from Madagascar. Two crewmembers are safely rescued.
There appears to be one man from the Chinese mainland on board. Xinhua reports that there are also eight from Taiwan, and all are businessmen. In addition there are four crewmembers left, with two others rescued. The crew were all locals.The boat had left Sainte Marie to travel 100km North to Masoala so that the businessmen could inspect some fishery assets. According to what Xinhua described as "a reliable source" at around 8:40 p.m. (1740 GMT) the vessel dropped anchor for reasons unknown about 20km from the coast. It is also reported the ship's engine had failed and she was taking on water.
