WASHINGTON — (CNN) A tour boat capsized off the coast of Nicaragua, killing at least 13 people and leaving more passengers missing, officials said.
The boat was carrying 32 people — 25 Costa Ricans, four Americans and three Nicaraguans, Costa Rica’s foreign ministry said.
The 13 dead were all Costa Rican, the foreign ministry said, citing the Nicaraguan foreign ministry. Nicaraguan officials did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.
The boat, traveling between Nicaragua’s Big Corn Island and Little Corn Island, flipped over Saturday near the larger island, Nicaragua’s state-run El 19 Digital news agency said.
Some passengers remain missing, the Costa Rican foreign ministry said, but did not specify how many.
El 19 Digital said an unspecified number of people were rescued, including the tour boat’s owner, Hilario Blandon.
Nicaraguan naval authorities had banned sea travel in the area due to bad weather and strong winds, but the tour boat proceeded anyway, the state-run news agency said.
Blandon, the boat’s owner, has been detained by Nicaraguan authorities, the agency said.
Costa Rica’s foreign ministry said the search continues for the missing passengers.
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