Local media said that more than 90 people perished on Sunday when the improvised ferry carrying them sank off the northern coast of Mozambique.
Thirty-one individuals, many of them youngsters, were trying to travel from Lunga in Nampula province to Mozambique Island aboard the boat.
Some of the people on board were reportedly heading to attend an island fair, while others were escaping a cholera outbreak, according to local online media TV Diário Nampula.
According to reports, individuals boarded the boat out of fear after hearing false information about a purported cholera outbreak, according to Secretary of State Jaime Neto of Nampula.
“Because the boat was overcrowded and unsuited to carry passengers it ended up sinking,” said Mr. Neto.
While rescue efforts continued on Monday, only five people of the 130 onboard have so far been rescued, according to officials.
