Boat accident near Mozambique kills 97

At least 97 people were killed when an overloaded ship capsized and sank off the coast of Mozambique on Sunday night, Mozambique’s state-run radio said, citing local officials.

Silveiro Nauaito, the administrator of Mozambique’s northern Nampula province, was quoted by Radio Mozambique on Monday as saying that the people on the boat, mainly women and children, were heading from the northern Lunga district to a small island off the coast of Mozambique.

He said the 130 passengers allegedly fled because of false information about a cholera outbreak and traveled to the island to seek medical care.

Naito said the rescue team had found 12 survivors and was looking for more, but bad weather at sea made the operation more difficult. He said 91 bodies were found on Sunday and six more bodies were found early Monday. He said about 40 bodies had been transported to the island or the mainland and burials of the victims had begun.

Mozambique has been struggling to contain a deadly cholera outbreak in its northern region since January, a health crisis that has also affected neighboring countries such as Malawi and Zambia.

Nampula Provincial Secretary of State Jaime Neto said in a telephone interview with VOA that the ship may have been hit by a huge wave, but it was also overcrowded and not suitable for carrying passengers.

He also blamed misinformation about the cholera outbreak for overcrowding on the ship. The ship “was not prepared to carry passengers. It ultimately sank and created a situation that the province regrets.”

Travel by boat is the main mode of transportation in Mozambique, and the country’s road network is dilapidated. Accidents occur regularly on the country’s rivers, lakes and along the Indian Ocean coast, most of which are caused by poorly maintained boats or overcrowding.