UN responds to devastating ferry tragedy in Mozambique
UNITED NATIONS, April 9 (Xinhua) -- The UN group in Mozambique has dispatched a team to the area of the deadly sinking of a makeshift ferry, a UN spokesman said on Tuesday.
Stephane Dujarric, chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the team is to work on a primary assessment and to support the national authorities' response efforts. It also will provide support to survivors and families impacted by the tragedy.
"Our colleagues on the ground stand ready to assist Mozambique and reiterate its willingness to support the government in its response to disasters," Dujarric said. "In a statement, the UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Mozambique, Dr. Catherine Sozi, said that she is deeply saddened by the death of all the people who died in the accident, many of them children."
The shipwreck occurred on Sunday near the Island of Mozambique, in Mozambique's northern province of Nampula.
The ferry carried 130 people who fled Mossuril following a panic caused by misinformation about a cholera outbreak, Silverio Nauaito, the local administrator, told media. There were only 12 survivors reported so far, and 30 people, including 17 children, already were buried. A search continued.
Local authorities on Monday put the death toll at 97.
Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi reported late on Monday that more than 100 people died in the sinking, according to published reports. ■