At Least 94 Dead In Mozambique After Unlicensed Boat Capsizes
A makeshift ferry boat capsized off Mozambique’s northern coast killing 94 people, including children.
Writing for The Associated Press, Farai Mutsaka, reported that Silvério Nauaito, the administrator of the Island of Mozambique, told state-run Radio Mozambique as saying the ferry sank Sunday afternoon.
The initial death toll of 91 rose to 94 after they recovered three more bodies early Monday.
Nauaito said that there were 130 people on the ferry and “94 have lost their lives and about 11 people have been hospitalized.” He said:
There are … around three other people rescued, but it is not easy to say with precision how many remain missing.
According to TV Diário Nampula, a local online outlet, an overcrowded boat operating between Lunga in the Nampula province and the Island of Mozambique tragically led to the drowning of many passengers, including children.
Some of the victims were reportedly travelling to attend a fair, while others were attempting to escape from Lunga to the Island of Mozambique due to fears of cholera contamination, which has recently affected the region.
Additional news reports quoted Jaime Neto, the Secretary of State in Nampula province, who explained that misinformation about an alleged cholera outbreak caused panic. Consequently, people boarded the boat—originally a fishing vessel—to flee the area.
Mozambique’s geography presents challenges. Many areas are accessible only by boats, which are frequently overcrowded. The country’s road network is inadequate, and some regions remain unreachable by land or air.
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