ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar (AP) - A ferry carrying 100 people has vanished after it was caught in a weekend cyclone as it sailed between the Indian Ocean islands of Comoros and Madagascar, port authorities said Tuesday.
The Samson disappeared as cyclone Gafilo tore through northeast Madagascar early Sunday with winds of 146 mph.
There has been no word of the 150-foot ferry since 8 p.m. Sunday, when it was reported at 93 miles from its destination at the northwestern port of Mahajanga, according to the port captain, who gave his name only as Ralambo.
A fishing boat with nine people aboard also was reported missing at Mahajanga, Ralambo said.
The Samson left the Comoros capital of Moroni on Saturday for a regular crossing to Mahajanga that would normally have taken 30 hours.
The ferry manifest listed 72 passengers and 18 crew, including citizens of both the Comoros and Madagascar, but officials said that may not have included all those on board.
Bad weather has hampered search efforts, which only began on Tuesday.
Seven people were killed and about 50,000 displaced by Gafilo, which the government is calling the worst cyclone to hit Madagascar in 20 years. At least 50,000 more suffered damage to their homes, crops or communities.
The worst affected areas are Antanar, Maroentsetra, Andapa, Mampikoni, and Majunga, already hit by Cyclone Elita last month, humanitarian workers said. Many roads have been cut off in the north of the country, roofs have been blown off and buildings flooded.
Gafilo was poised to strike the island again Tuesday in the southwest, an area already crippled by drought. Although weakening, winds in the cyclone still are gusting to 93 mph.
Prime minister Jacques Sylla has asked for international help.
Madagascar - the world's fourth largest island of the southeast coast of Africa - is a former French colony which gained independence in 1960.
Ferry missing after Gafilo hits Madagascar
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