Mapapai: No record of missing persons so far

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Mapapai: No record of missing persons so far

3:06 CAT | 14 Jun 2016

File photo / Maputo bay seen from Catembe

Due to the lack of accurate records concerning the number of people travelling on the Mapapai I boat that collided with the ferryboat Mpfumo and capsized at around 8:00 a.m. last Friday, authorities are unsure whether there are any more missing persons.

First reports immediately after the accident suggested there were five people unaccounted for, but Lourenço Machado, Director of Maritime Safety at the Institute of Maritime Navigation has told Notícias that no families have reported the disappearance of a loved one and that neither have any bodies have been recovered or seen floating.

A preliminary assessment suggests excess capacity was among the causes of the accident, which occurred near the Katembe jetty.

The boat has a capacity of 25 passengers and three crew members, but at the time of the accident that claimed one life and not two, as Noticias previously reported, more than 30 people were on board, operators included.

Machado said that at least 33 people were travelling in the capsized vessel, and that one had died, with three persons out of danger but still under medical care at Maputo Central Hospital. One of the injured was among those involved in the rescue operations.

Mapapai passenger boats are preferred by users who make the journey daily because of their speed compared to the regular ferryboats.

Source: AIM