Ferry sinks off Mozambique, leaving more than 90 dead and dozens missing

Source: CBS News

Harare, Zimbabwe -- A makeshift ferry sank off Mozambique's northern coast Sunday, killing more than 90 people including children and leaving more than 20 missing, officials said.

The Reuters news agency quotes Lourenco Machado, an administrator from the country's Maritime Transport Institute (INTRASMAR) as saying at least 94 of the 130 people on board died, including children, and 26 were missing.

CBS News partner network BBC News cited officials in Nampula province as saying five people had been rescued.

Machado said the craft involved was an overcrowded fishing boat that wasn't licensed to transport people.

Nampula Secretary of State Jaime Neto told the BBC that, "Because the boat was overcrowded and unsuited to carry passengers, it ended up sinking."

Some people were traveling to attend a fair while others were trying to "flee from Lunga to the Island of Mozambique for fear of being contaminated by cholera, which has affected that region in recent days," state broadcaster TV Diário Nampula reported.

Other news reports quoted Neto as saying misinformation about an alleged cholera outbreak caused people to panic and board the boat in an attempt to flee.

Mozambique and neighboring southern African countries Zimbabwe and Malawi have been affected in recent months by a deadly cholera outbreak that authorities are battling to contain.

Many areas of Mozambique are only accessible by boats, which are often overcrowded. The country has a poor road network and some areas are unreachable by land or air.