Twenty-three lost at sea off Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo, Apr 26: Twenty-three people were missing at sea today after their fishing boat capsized off the Dominican Republic, authorities said.

The US Coast Guard said 16 of those aboard the vessel called the ''Abracadabra'' were plucked to safety after it sank about 1 a m yesterday, 20 miles out from the town of Montecristi on the Dominican border with Haiti.

But the Coast Guard, Dominican navy rescue crews and a fleet of fishing boats were still searching for 23 of the 39 people aboard the ''Abracadabra'' when it went down.

The US Coast Guard said its rescue crews, backed by helicopters and jets, had searched an area covering more than 2,380 nautical square miles by 11 a m today.

The doomed fishing vessel, which Dominican officials described as 65-feet long, set out at about 5 pm on Monday from the northern Dominican resort of Puerto Plata.

Reuters>