2024-04-11 06:11:07
The owner of the vessel that sank on Sunday, killing at least 98 people, in the province of Nampula, northern Mozambique, is in custody, the local police spokeswoman told Lusa this Tuesday.
Rosa Chaúque stated that someone responsible for the boat, a small fishing vessel that operated in that region, is also detained. The two elements “have already received medical attention and are currently in police custody”, declared the spokesperson.
98 people died in the sinking, including 55 children, 34 women and nine men, with 16 people surviving, including the two elements.
According to the Mozambican maritime authorities, the fishing vessel was not authorized to transport passengers nor was it capable of doing so and the people it was transporting were fleeing an outbreak of cholera on the mainland, bound for the Island of Mozambique, with the sinking occurring on about 100 meters from the coast.
The Mozambican Government announced that it will meet this Tuesday to discuss measures.
“The President of the Republic, Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, received with deep sadness the news of the sinking of a vessel leaving the administrative post of Lungo, in the district of Mossuril, bound for Nacala”, reads a statement released on Monday by the Presidency of the Republic.
Origin of the tragedy
The head of state sent a government delegation, led by the Minister of Transport and Communications, Mateus Magala, to provide “help to the survivors, and their referral, as well as for the investigation, in order to assess the reasons that gave rise to this tragedy ”, he added.
“It is important to note that, shortly after the head of state became aware of this tragedy, he instructed provincial entities at different levels to mobilize rescue and situation analysis teams. In light of this tragedy, the Mozambican Government will meet tomorrow [terça-feira] to assess the situation and take necessary measures to minimize the impact of this incident”, says the statement.
The Mozambican Minister of Transport and Communications announced on Monday, at a multisectoral meeting in Nampula to analyze the case, that the authorities are “reflecting” on this sinking, so “that this never happens again”.
More than 90 dead in shipwreck in northern Mozambique
“Reflection on what happened, what should not happen and how we will position ourselves from now on, so that what happened does not happen again. We are all here to reflect on this”, stated Magala.
It is necessary to “exchange views on what happened and should not happen from now on”, insisted the government official, after expressing solidarity with the families of the accident victims.
The president of the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo, opposition), Ossufo Momade, was also “deeply dismayed” by the sinking and called for national mourning.
“We demand that the Government declare national mourning and that this moment be recognized by the authorities as another sign of negligence and lack of public security”, wrote Ossufo Momade, on his official account on the social network Facebook.
“We were quite moved and concerned to learn that the vessel in question was a fishing vessel and was not designed to transport people, which led us to reflect on the need for maritime security,” added the leader of the largest opposition party.
2024-04-11 06:11:07