Rabat/Berlin - Six people were believed to have drowned after a German sailing boat capsized off the port of Mahdia north of the Moroccan capital Rabat in stormy weather, Moroccan police sources said Thursday.

Two days after the accident occurred on Tuesday, there was virtually no hope of finding any of the victims alive, the sources said.

A spokeswoman for the German Foreign Ministry also said that the six, who included three Germans, had probably drowned.

The seventh occupant of the boat, a 19-year-old German woman, managed to swim ashore.

The inexperienced occupants of MS Taube faced waves up to 8 metres high on their way to Rabat, according to Moroccan police.

The boat was believed to be on a sailing tour sponsored by an organization seeking to improve inter-cultural understanding.

The victims included three German men, a Slovenian man and an Austrian and a Danish woman.

A helicopter search for the victims was interrupted, but vessels continued combing the area where the boat had sunk. (dpa)