More than 90 people died this Sunday in a shipwreck in Nampula province in northern Mozambique, the province’s secretary of state said.
The victims died after the sinking of a ship leaving the administrative center of Lunga bound for the island of Mozambique, Jaime Neto said, adding that authorities suspected overcrowding was the cause of the sinking.
“The boat was carrying about 130 people, but it did not have the capacity to do so. Therefore, it sank and, at least as confirmed so far, 91 people died. The bodies have already been identified,” Jaime Neto was quoted as saying. On Sunday evening, Televisão de Mozambique (TVM).
According to the official, authorities in the administrative town of Lunga, 189 kilometers from the city of Nampula (the provincial capital), are taking measures to search for people who are still missing.
“The situation is complex and the administrative post of Lunga is taking some steps to establish the whereabouts of the other people on the ship,” concluded Jaime Neto.