The sinking of a fishing vessel off north-eastern Honduras has left at least 27 people dead, according to the army.
MS Capitan Wally sank off the Mosquitia region on Wednesday. Twenty-seven people drowned and 55 people were rescued alive, army spokesman Jose Domingo Meza told the news programme TN5 overnight.
 The victims included the captain of the vessel, the only one of the victims who has been identified so far, daily La Prensa reported. Rescuers were on Thursday searching for nine people who remained missing.
The death toll had earlier been given as 26. The survivors were rescued by a navy vessel which happened to be in the area. The merchant navy was investigating the cause of the accident, Meza said. Wind gusts were reported in the area at the time.
Another fishing vessel also suffered an accident in the same area on the same day. All the 49 occupants of MS Miss Francely were rescued, according to Meza. The vessel could only accommodate 31 people, but it carried 49, local media reported.
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