Overcrowded ferry sinks off Mozambique, leaving at least 98 dead, reports say
FARAI MUTSAKA April 8, 2024
A makeshift ferry overcrowded with residents reportedly fleeing a cholera outbreak sank off Mozambique’s northern coast, killing at least 98 people, including children, local media said Monday.
The ferry with an estimated 130 people aboard sank Sunday after
departing it departedthe southeastern African nation’s coast
for the
nearby
Island of Mozambique.
and
At least 11 people were hospitalized, state-run Radio Mozambique quoted island administrator Silvrio Nauaito as saying.
Most of the dead were recovered Sunday, but
an additional
seven bodies were found Monday, bringing the
death
toll
from 91
to 98, the Noticias newspaper quoted Nauaito as saying.
Maritime authorities continued to search for
additional
survivors, Nauaito told the radio station, adding that it is not easy to say with precision how many remain missing. Government officials were heading to the accident site Monday
to get more precise information
, he said.
Philippine ferry fire leaves 31 dead, 23 injured and at least 7 missing
The Nampula provincial authority released a statement attributing the sinking to the use of a vessel unsuitable for transporting passengers and overcrowding, Radio Mozambique reported.
Noticias
, one of the country’s main and oldest newspapers,
said the boat
ordinarily
was
ordinarily
used
for asa
fishing
vessel
and that residents of the town of Lunga were trying to flee what they believed was a flare-up in cases of cholera,
which the country has battled in recent months.that the country has suffered in recent months.
They wanted to reach the Island of Mozambique and departed in a stampede using boats unsuitable for navigation,” the newspaper reported.
The boat capsized before it could reach the island. Zambia reels from a cholera outbreak with more than 400 dead and 10,000 cases
Some people
still
managed to reach the island
‘s shore
but died there after not being able to get medical help
on time
, the newspaper said.
The countrys
National public broadcaster Television of Mozambique said the
two
bodies of
two
children remained uncollected
atin
a morgue.
Authorities in Mozambique and neighboring
southern African
countries have been trying to contain a deadly cholera outbreak that
has
spread in recent months.
Mozambique, one of the worlds poorest countries, has recorded 32 deaths from about 15,000 cholera cases since late last year. Nampula is the province that has been hit hardest, with more than
is the worst affected province withover
5,000 cholera cases
, including and
12 deaths, according to government data.
Many areas of Mozambique are
only
accessible
only
by boats, which are often overcrowded. The country has a poor road network, and some areas are unreachable by land or air.
Mutsaka writes for the Associated Press.
