Two fishermen killed in shipwreck in Mozambique

Two fishermen died early Sunday morning after their canoe sank in Mwanza district, Sofala province, central Mozambique, Mozambican police said in a statement on Tuesday.

“There were 12 fishermen on the boat, 10 of whom were rescued alive,” said Roberto Selemane, head of public relations for the Provincial Directorate of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) in Sofala.

The sinking occurred early on Sunday morning when 12 people went out to sea to fish, the spokesman said, citing poor marine safety regulations and bad weather as likely causes of the incident.

In northern Mozambique, namely in Nampula, at least seven people have died in shipwrecks and other maritime accidents in the Angoche district of Nampula in the first half of this year, local authorities announced, calling for precautionary measures.

“It is necessary to respect the capacity of the vessel to avoid many accidents at sea, this is what we have always advised (…) Going to sea is not an easy task,” said Temoteo Tambala, Angoche’s maritime administrator, quoted by local media today

In the same province, on April 7, at least 98 people died in a shipwreck that occurred when a fishing boat left the Lunga municipality in Mossuril district, heading to Ilha de Mozambique.

Of the 98 people who died there, 55 were children, 34 women and nine men, with 16 survivors recorded.

The Council of Ministers declared three days of national mourning following the accident, with several of Mozambique’s partner countries expressing solidarity in the face of the tragedy.

According to Nampula maritime authorities, the fishing vessel carrying 130 people was not authorized to carry passengers and was not capable of doing so, and the people it was carrying were fleeing a cholera outbreak on the mainland.