Madagascar boat accident kills at least 64; minister swims to safety from helicopter crash at site

 

 At least 64 people have died in a boat accident off the coast of northeastern Madagascar and searches were underway for 24 missing passengers, the maritime agency said on Wednesday.
Fifty survivors were found, the Maritime and River Port Agency (APMF) said.
The vessel, a cargo ship that was not authorized to transport people, was overloaded and water flooded the engine, said Mamy Randrianavony, APMF director of operations at sea.
It sank late on Monday night with 138 people on board, APMF said.A search helicopter carrying General Serge Gellé, who heads the national Gendarmerie, crashed at sea late on Monday. Gellé was found alive Tuesday morning after swimming for nearly 12 hours, he said in a video posted to social media. A mechanic on board the helicopter was also found, but two passengers remain unaccounted for.
Gellé was accompanying Prime Minister Christian Ntsay and the Minister of National Defence General Léon Richard Rakotonirina, who had traveled to the region to oversee the search operations in a separate helicopter.