At least 15 people have been confirmed dead after an overcrowded dugout canoe sank off the north coast of the West African state of Guinea.
A naval officer stationed in Boke, a city some 50 kilometres (30 miles) to the east said the group were travelling to a wedding on an island near Kanfarande when their boat capsized.
According to him, an unknown number of people had been aboard the boat but the navy was able to bring out 15 bodies from the ocean on Monday.
“We can’t tell you how many people are still in the water,” he told AFP.
An official at Kanfarande town hall who gave his name only as Rica said the authorities do not yet know how many are missing.
“We are in shock,” he said.
Dugout canoes — or “pirogues” — are a common form of transport between towns along the intricate coastline of northern Guinea and neighbouring Guinea-Bissau.