More than 90 people died after a ferry sank off the north coast of Mozambique, the BBC said, citing domestic authorities, with five rescued from among the nearly 130 believed to have been on board.
They were fleeing a cholera outbreak, the broadcaster said on Sunday, citing Jaime Neto, secretary of state for the province of Nampula near the incident site.
"Because the boat was overcrowded and unsuited to carry passengers, it ended up sinking," he said, adding that many children were among the dead.
Government officials did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment.
The boat was travelling from Lunga in the province to Mozambique island, off the coast of Nampula, the British Broacasting Corp added.

US halts flights at busy East Coast airports due to communications issues
MS NOW, CNN and Politico to sue over White House ban
Pakistan says it killed 28 militants, Afghan Taliban and UN report 3 civilian deaths
New air traffic control failure delays flights at UK airports
Textile factory fire in southern Chinese city of Foshan kills 8