Two heavy sand transshipment boats sank four days ago off the coast of the Pebane district in Zambezia province.

According to Radio MozambiqueThe ships were carrying seven people and there were no human casualties.

The head of security at the Maritime Administration in the district, Rogério Bucare, said it was a barge that was towing a vessel carrying heavy sands to overflow onto the ship anchored off the coast of Pebane.

For the time being, it is suspected that the shipwrecks were due to a cable snapping and bad weather.

"There was no human damage. The boat was carrying seven Mozambican passengers and one Russian. All were unharmed. The vessel 'Falcon' was towing a barge loaded with heavy sand to the ocean for the purpose of transfer. When they reached the mouth of the river, almost at the entrance, the cable snapped, and as the waves were very high, they couldn't get hold of the rope to tie it off. When they tried to tie off, the cable got caught in the propeller. The tug was unable to tow. Another tug was called in, but it was unable to pull the boat to the mooring", he said.

A multisectoral team is on the ground investigating the possibility of removing the boats.

"A team has been formed to examine the sailors and the captain to find out the main reason that led to this accident. The two machines, excavator shovels, fell into the water, plus two grabs," he said.