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| Date | 20 December 2021 |
|---|---|
| Location | Madagascar, Indian Ocean |
| Deaths | 85 |
| Missing | 3 |
On 20 December 2021, a cargo ship illegally carrying 130 passengers sank off the northeast coast of Madagascar. A hole in the hull caused the engine room to flood, leaving the vessel vulnerable to wave action. At least 85 people died during the accident.
The Francia was a 12-metre-long (39 ft) wooden vessel that was not authorized to carry passengers. [1] The ship had illegally taken on 130 passengers for a journey from Antanambe (which is not registered as an official port) to Soanierana Ivongo, a journey of around 100 kilometres (54 nmi). [1] [2] [3] Including crew, 138 people were on board. The vessel sank late on 20 December 2021 after its engine room was flooded, leaving it exposed to the action of waves. [4] The flooding was caused by a hole in the ship's hull. [3]
Malagasy police minister Serge Gellé was flown to the site of the shipwreck on 21 December. [5] His helicopter crashed and he was one of two surviving passengers (the other was Chief Warrant Officer Jimmy Laitsara). [6] The survivors separately reached land at Mahambo. Gellé used a seat from the helicopter as a flotation device during his twelve-hour overnight swim to safety. [5] [7] Gellé swam to within 500 metres (1,600 ft) of the shore, but the waves prevented him from reaching land. He was spotted by a fisherman, whose canoe was too small to accommodate them both. The fisherman returned two hours later with a larger canoe and brought Gellé to dry land. [1] The body of one of the helicopter's occupants, a police colonel, was later recovered; the pilot remains missing. [8]
A separate helicopter carried the prime minister, Christian Ntsay, and minister of national defence, General Léon Richard Rakotonirina, to the site of the shipwreck. [9]
A force of Malagasy gendarmes was sent to the site and an investigation into the sinking was started by the Malagasy government. [10] Three vessels from the Madagascar Navy and maritime agency assisted in the search for survivors. [3] By 22 December, 64 bodies had been recovered, with around 24 people missing and around 50 survivors rescued. [2] [4] The following day the Madagascan Maritime and Port Agency announced that the confirmed death toll had increased to 85, with three persons missing. [1] [7] [11]
President Andry Rajoelina paid tribute to those who died in the shipwreck and helicopter crash. [7] The graveyard of Soanierana-Ivongo was too small to accommodate all the bodies recovered, so some were sent to nearby villages for burial. [1]
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