Managua: Nicaraguan air and sea rescue teams were searching for 26 people after a lobster boat carrying 50 people sank Thursday in the Caribbean, a military source said.
At least 24 crew members survived after the boat sank in the early morning hours, some 40 miles (64 kilometres) off the coast of Puerto Cabezas, a small town in northeast Nicaragua.
The head of the Nicaraguan Navy told state media that a number of the survivors were rescued at sea by a passing sailboat. Fifteen crew members were picked up by small boats or swam to shore.
The military mobilised helicopters and boats to try and find the people who were still missing late Thursday.
It is believed the boat sank due to rough seas.
Fishing boats typically employ swimmers of indigenous origin or of African descent who live in this remote and impoverished coastal region of Nicaragua.
