Search for survivors abandoned in sea tragedy

Four days after the Senegalese vessel, MV Le Joola, capsized off the coast of The Gambia in heavy seas, rescue teams abandoned the search for survivors inside its upturned hull, saying it was unlikely any more could be found. A search for bodies would continue because some were suspected to be trapped inside the vessel, sources in The Gambian capital, Banjul, told IRIN. It is feared, however, that some of them may have started to decompose, which could make identification difficult. The BBC quoted one of the divers directing rescue attempts, Haidar el Ali, as saying on Tuesday that 262 bodies had been pulled out of the capsized ferry, but there were perhaps another 400 trapped inside. Senegalese authorities said at least 1,000 people were on the ship. According to the office of the Prime Minister, which is leading a commission of inquiry, some 185 passengers who boarded the vessel at a second stop had not been counted in earlier tallies. The vessel had a capacity of just over 500 passengers, officials told IRIN. Local media reported that mass burials of the victims had started in the southern Casamance region of Senegal. They said anger was also mounting against the Senegalese government, which has been accused of negligence. The government has accepted responsibility for the tragedy. President Abdoulaye Wade acknowledged on Tuesday that the ship, which was run by the navy, was not meant to be operated on the open sea and that the disaster had resulted from negligence, CNN reported. "The vessel sank with frightening speed," Lamine Cisse, one of the survivors, said on Saturday. "I can still hear very loudly and clearly the desperate cries of women and children. This will haunt me for the rest of my life." Most of the dead were believed to be Senegalese. Others on boat were from Guinea-Bissau and The Gambia, France and Spain. Ships from The Gambia and Italy joined the search for possible survivors, and for bodies. MV Le Joola shuttled between the Senegalese capital, Dakar, and Ziguinchor, capital of the southern region of Casamance until the tragedy. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed over the tragedy on Monday. "The Secretary-General is deeply saddened by the news that hundreds of people are feared drowned after a Senegalese passenger ferry capsized," UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said in a statement.