Gabonese Minister of Transport, Brice Paillat, resigned on Thursday, a week after the sinking of a small ferry which left at least 21 dead and 16 missing according to a still provisional report, announced the presidency.
Many voices - families of the victims, opposition, civil society groups - had risen in recent days to demand at least the resignation of Mr. Paillat, in addition to the suspension announced by the government of four executives of the administration of the Merchant Navy and Maritime Affairs, and ongoing police custody of officials and managers of the company that owns the ship.
"
Mr. Brice Paillat today submitted his resignation as Minister of Transport to the President of the Republic
" Ali Bongo Ondimba, "
who accepted it
", announced the presidency in a press release which does not specify the reasons and does not refer to sinking.
It is the Minister Delegate for Transport who “
will ensure the processing of current affairs until the appointment of a new minister
”, specifies the text.
The balance sheet, still provisional, has remained unchanged for two days at 21 dead and 16 missing, according to the government.
Testimonies of the castaways
In total, 124 of the 161 passengers and crew members of the Esther Miracle, which sank on March 9 in the middle of the night not far from the Gabonese coast, had been rescued.
This mixed passenger and freight vessel linked the Gabonese capital Libreville to the oil port of Port-Gentil.
The ship, whose date of construction is unknown, was purchased and inaugurated on this line last November.
It is owned by a private company, Royal Cost Marine (RCM).
Castaways testified in various media not to have been guided by the crew during the evacuation, to have remained for many hours in the water clinging to inflatable rescue boats which took on water or to their lifebuoys , before the arrival of first aid, in particular canoes and a barge from a private company.
The shipwreck took place 10 km from the coast and not far from the entrance to the gulf which shelters Libreville.
The dilapidated state of this ship, as well as its unsuitability for carrying passengers, have also been questioned by local media, families and civil society groups.
Administrative and judicial investigations have been opened, of which nothing is filtering for the time being.
On Tuesday, the prosecution had simply announced "
police custody
" without further details.
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/RJECWNQSME4ZC4AJX4NFKPPWMY.jpg)
