Ninety dead in Mozambique ferry disaster

Officials in Nampula province said five of the 130 people believed to have been on board had been rescued.

They were fleeing a cholera outbreak, Nampula Secretary of State Jaime Neto said. Many children were among the dead, he added.

“Because the boat was overcrowded and unsuited to carry passengers it ended up sinking,” said Mr Neto.

An unverified video posted on social media purported to show dozens of bodies lying on a beach.

Portuguese broadcaster RTP reported that the boat was apparently travelling from Lunga to Mozambique Island, off the coast of Nampula.

It is a Muslim-majority area, and some of those who died have already been buried in line with Islamic rites.

According to UNICEF, the current outbreak is the worst in 25 years. Since October 2023, Mozambique has reported 13,700 confirmed cases and 30 deaths.

An Islamist insurgency in neighbouring Cabo Delgado province has claimed the lives of at least 4,000 people and displaced nearly one million others since it began over six years ago.

Ordinary Mozambicans say the news of the boat tragedy shocked them, mainly because of the vast number of deaths.

Boat accidents are not uncommon in Mozambique, but rarely do so many people die. Thousands of boats are said to ferry passengers around with little oversight.

“It’s shocking – the authorities are partly to blame for not doing enough to control and monitor sea traffic,” local journalist Charles Mangwiro told the BBC.

Another reporter in Mozambique, Berta Madime, told the BBC that this latest accident comes despite recent pressure on ferry operators to improve safety.