The Fishing Boat Turned Into A Sinking Ferry, 94 Died And 26 Missing

JAKARTA - 94 people were killed and 26 people missing after a packed emergency ferry - a modification of a fishing boat - sank off Mozambique's northern coast.

This transformed fishing boat carried about 130 people. In the middle of the trip to an island off the coast of the province of Nampula, a problem occurred.

"Because the ship was packed and not suitable for passenger transport, the ship finally sank," said Nampula Foreign Minister Jaime Neto as quoted by The Guardian, Monday, April 8. Many children became victims, he added.

Rescue teams have found five survivors and are looking for more but marine conditions make operations difficult.

Most of the passengers tried to escape from the mainland due to panic caused by disinformation aboutference, said Neto.

Lourenco Machado, administrator of the country's Maritime Transport Institute, said on state television Monday that at least 94 people were killed and 26 people were missing.

The country in southern Africa, one of the world's poorest countries, has recorded nearly 15,000 cases of water-borne disease and 32 deaths since October, according to government data.

Nampula is the worst-affected region, accounting for a third of all cases.

The boat headed to Mozambique Island, a small coral island that used to be the Portuguese East African capital and named the country.