Was completely overloaded

Ship capsizes off Mozambique – more than 90 dead

Fishing boats off the coast of Mozambique (archive image)(Bild: APA/AFP/Alfredo Zuniga)

More than 90 people have died in a shipwreck off the coast of Mozambique. The fishing boat, which had been converted into a ferry, was overloaded with around 130 passengers on board, local authorities announced on Sunday. The people were apparently trying to flee from a cholera outbreak.

"The boat sank because it was overloaded and unsuitable for transporting passengers," said Jaime Neto, the state secretary of the northern province of Nampula.

Many children among the dead
He initially spoke of 91 dead. Many of them were children. So far, five people have been rescued. The search for survivors is continuing despite the adverse conditions. Most of the passengers had wanted to leave the mainland because of misinformation about the cholera epidemic, said Neto.

15,000 cholera cases since October
According to the government, almost 15,000 cases of cholera and 32 deaths have been recorded since October in the southern African state, which is one of the poorest countries in the world. Nampula is the worst affected region, with a third of all cases occurring there.

Cholera is transmitted through contaminated drinking water, among other things, and can quickly lead to death if left untreated. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the disease has been on the rise again since 2021.