At least 94 people have died after a ferry boat capsized off the northern coast of Mozambique.
Officials from the country’s Maritime Transport Institute (INTRASMAR) said children are among the dead while 26 others remain missing.
The boat was ferrying people from Lunga in Nampula province to Mozambique Island.
The passengers were reportedly fleeing a cholera outbreak, state broadcaster TVM announced, citing another local maritime administrator.
Mozambique and other countries in Southern Africa have been battling cholera outbreaks since last year.
An administrator of INSTRASMAR, Lourenco Machado said on state television on Monday that the vessel was an overloaded fishing boat and was not licensed to transport people.
“On Sunday we registered a maritime incident where at least 94 people died when a barge carrying 130 people capsized. We have recovered 94 bodies and 26 are missing,” Machado said.
