An ambulance and medical crew wait outside the harbormaster's office in Cotonou, Benin, for the possible arrival of children from a ship believed drifting off the coast of western Africa. The ship was turned away from several African ports over the past three weeks, and has since disappeared.
Authorities say the crew is now desperate to unload their cargo without being caught.
And one way to do that, they fear, is by dumping their human cargo into the sea. West African police are still hunting for a ship thought to be carrying scores of suspected child slaves that has been roaming off the coast for more than two weeks. But it was turned away from Gabon, when authorities suspected the crew was planning to sell the children. On Thursday, it tried to make port in Douala, Cameroon, but was also turned away. Benin authorities expected the boat to return to Cotonou on Sunday, after making a round trip of more than 1,200 miles.