British craft in Sierra Leone accident

The British armed forces in Sierra Leone say that two local men are reported missing following a collision between a fishing boat and a British landing-craft vehicle.

A British military spokesman said that five other fishermen were rescued from the sea.

The collision happened in the early hours of Saturday morning off King Tom Point , close to the capital, Freetown.

The landing-craft vehicle, manned by Royal Marines, was on a reconnaissance mission from a British vessel HMS Ocean. A BBC correspondent in Freetown says the landing-craft was not bearing lights for security reasons, and the fishing boat -- which was also without lighting -- was at sea in violation of the night-time curfew in Freetown.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service