TWENTY-SEVEN people are missing in the sinking of a ferry off the east coast of Madagascar, papers said here Saturday. Press reports said the vessel went down on Thursday with 41 people on board while sailing between the eastern port of Soanierana-Ivongo and the popular tourist island of Sainte Marie, which is some 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the coast. Witnesses quoted by local papers said the aging vessel was overloaded, bearing a cargo of construction material in addition to its passengers. Fourteen of the passengers were pulled from the water after the ferry went down. The other 27 were missing, the reports said. Two of the passengers were not from Madagascar, although their identities were not given. The passengers included 26 players from a local football team.