The Mozambican President (PR), Filipe Nyusi, assured this Wednesday, 10 April, that the government is committed to preventing a repeat of Sunday’s tragedy off Nampula, in the north, in which 98 people died in the sinking of a fishing boat.
“We lost 98 people on that boat that left here for Mozambique Island. The problem, as far as we can tell, lies in the fact that they were travelling on a fishing boat,” said the PR when addressing the population of the Lunga administrative post in Nampula province.
“It was not possible to avoid what happened. However, we are and will always be on your side,” added the head of state, adding: “What we will do is look for ways to prevent such problems from occurring in the future.”
In the accident, 98 people lost their lives, including 55 children, 34 women and nine men, with 16 survivors among the 130 or so people on board.
According to the maritime authorities, the fishing boat was not authorised to carry passengers and did not have the conditions to do so. The people it was carrying were fleeing to protect themselves from a cholera outbreak in the region, heading for the island of Mozambique, and the shipwreck happened around 100 metres from the coast.
