Africa-Press – Mozambique. Ten displaced persons, all female, drowned last Saturday when the vessel in which they were travelling capsized near Vamizi Island, Cabo Delgado province.
According to ‘Carta de Moçambique’ sources, the boat left Palma district, in the north of the province, in another daily evacuation of displaced people seeking to reach the provincial capital, Pemba.
Sources offer strong winds as the probable cause of the shipwreck which claimed the 12 lives, and in fact report that 12 artisanal vessels were forced to dock at Vamizi Island, weather conditions being unfavourable to sailing.
The bodies of the victims were reportedly found on one of Vazimi’s tourist beaches, having already been buried there.
With the seizure by terrorists of the main town in the district of Mocímboa da Praia and the blockade of the road connecting the districts of Palma and Nangade, navigation has become the only way to leave the area. The voyage to Pemba can last up to ten days, and those who succeed in reaching the capital tell of dramatic incidents including shipwrecks, ambushes and hunger.
