The toll was increased in the sinking of the boat Francia, which took place Monday, December 20 in the morning, in the north-west of the country. The authorities counted 64 dead among the 138 passengers of the ship. They now speak of 85 victims.
With our correspondent in Antananarivo, Laure Verneau
We are heading towards a final assessment of the drama. This Wednesday, 21 additional corpses were recovered off the coast of Île Sainte-Marie. This brings the total number of deaths to 85. Fifty travelers were saved. This is what the APMF, the Maritime and River Port Authority, which is conducting the research, said in a press release.
These last remains are currently being repatriated from the island to the commune of Soanierana Ivongo where a mass will be held later in the day. The President of the Republic declared this day as a national day of mourning with the flag at half mast.
200 families are waiting for news from their loved ones
Contacted by phone, the mayor of Soanierana Ivongo, Alban Menavolo explains that a marquee has been erected by the State at the municipal stadium in the village. You have to imagine a large white tarpaulin under which some 200 families, still according to the mayor, assist in the repatriation of the last remains, and those, so that they can identify their loved one.
For practical reasons, the first bodies were also brought to this stadium, not far from the marquee. The mayor also speaks of a smell, that of decomposing bodies, they remained more than 48 hours in the water. An odor that persists among other things because of the high heat.
For the identity of the victims, personal effects, identity cards and money were found by the emergency services. Still according to Alban Menavolo and another inhabitant of the village who prefers to remain anonymous, most of the ship’s passengers are seasonal workers from the countryside. These Malagasy had gone to harvest the cloves, a little further north of the port of departure, and, by taking the boat, they intended to join their family, with the money earned, for the end of year celebrations.