63 dead, 20 missing after boat sinks in high waves off Cameroon coast

(AP) An overloaded wooden boat sank in high waves off Cameroon's coast, killing at least 63 people, a government official said Monday. Fifteen passengers were believed to have survived, but at least 20 were missing and feared dead.

The boat, which was sailing along the coast to Nigeria, sank Saturday night near the Cameroonian village of Mabeta, said Peter Itoe, an official of the local Limbe district reached by telephone. He said 63 of the estimated 100 passengers aboard perished and were buried.

"We learnt from the survivors that the boat initially carried some 29 people, but was collecting others along the coast as it sailed toward its destination in Oron, Nigeria," Itoe said. "According to the survivors, who are mainly Nigerians, the boat became overloaded with over 100 persons aboard and four vehicles."

He said most of those on board were believed to be Nigerian traders, but many of those who perished did not have identification _ either because they were in the country illegally or their documents were lost when the boat went down.

Itoe did not say how many survived, but a journalist who visited the scene southwest of the capital Yaounde, Christopher Fon, said 15 people had escaped. The vessel's capacity was not immediately known.

Itoe said high waves splashed into the boat. The flooding, combined with the weight of too many passengers and goods, caused the boat to tip and sink, Itoe said.

Fon said bodies were found floating along the coast and nearby beaches. They were collected by Cameroonian naval units and buried in six mass graves in Mabeta.