The passengers were fleeing a cholera outbreak, said state broadcaster
\n Maputo
\nAt least 94 people have died after a ferry sank off the north coast of Mozambique, local authorities say.
\nOfficials in Nampula province said there were 12 survivors out of the 130 or so people believed to have been on board.
\nThey were fleeing after disinformation about the ongoing cholera outbreak caused panic, Nampula Secretary of State Jaime Neto said.
\nMany children were among the dead, he added. Rescue efforts are continuing.
\nInitially on Sunday the authorities blamed the shipwreck on overcrowding, but later said it had sunk after taking on water.
\nA crew member who survived, Menque Amade, told national broadcaster TVM that \u201cwater filled the boat… and the tragedy happened\u201d.
\nPhotos taken soon afterwards show dozens of bodies lying on a beach.
\nThe boat was travelling from Lunga to Mozambique Island, off the coast of Nampula, Portuguese broadcaster RTP reported.
\nIt is a Muslim-majority area and some of those who died have already been buried, in line with Islamic rites.
\nOrdinary Mozambicans say the news of the boat tragedy shocked them, particularly because of the huge number of deaths.
\nBoat 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.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s shocking\u2013the authorities are partly to blame for not doing enough to control and monitor sea traffic,\u201d local journalist Charles Mangwiro told the BBC.
\nAnother reporter in Mozambique, Berta Madime, told the BBC that this latest accident comes despite recent pressure on ferry operators to improve safety.
\nNampula province has been one of the worst-affected by the cholera outbreak which has spread over several countries in southern Africa since January last year.
\nAccording to Unicef, the current outbreak is the worst in 25 years. Since October 2023, Mozambique has reported 13,700 confirmed cases and 30 deaths.
\nAn 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.
\nFor nearly 400 years, Mozambique Island was the capital of Portuguese East Africa, when the region was under colonial rule. The island is designated a Unesco world heritage site for its colonial architecture and history as a trading post.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The passengers were fleeing a cholera outbreak, said state broadcaster Maputo At least 94 people have died after a ferry sank off the north coast of Mozambique, local authorities say. Officials in Nampula province said there were 12 survivors out of the 130 or so people believed to have been on board. They were fleeing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":399490,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-399485","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n