1 dead, 10 missing as boats crash off Algerian port

Sunday, August 09, 2009 ANNABA: One person died and at least 10 were missing after an Algerian coast guard boat collided with boats filled with possible migrants, officials said.The collision occurred off the Algerian port city of Annaba after three migrant boats ignored calls that they stop, a British news channel reported.More than 70 people have unsuccessfully tried to escape Algeria by boat during the past two days, Algerian radio said, adding that more than 400 people had been intercepted by the Annaba coast guard this year. The Algerian newspaper El Watan reported two migrant boats sank in the stand-off with the coast guards that began Saturday.