Fifteen pople die as a ship sinks in icy waters in Canada

Officials in Canada say fifteen people have drowned and six are missing after a cargo ship sank near the eastern province of Newfoundland.

They say rescuers lifted four crew members to safety after finding them clinging to a life-boat in icy waters and sub-zero temperatures.

The cause of the accident is not clear.

The ship, registered in Cyprus, was on its way to pick up a load of grain from Montreal, where business opened for the first time in a week after the devastating ice-storms that have paralysed much of eastern Canada.

At least ten people are known to have died in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, where nearly a million people remain without electricity.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service