On 24 March 2020, 78 people – 64 dead and 14 alive – were found in a

shipping container A shipping container is a container with strength suitable to withstand shipment, storage, and handling. Shipping containers range from large reusable steel boxes used for intermodal shipments to the ubiquitous corrugated boxes. In the context of ...

on a

lorry A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructio ...

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. It is believed that the group were migrating to South Africa illegally; the route they were on is one that is often used for that purpose.

Background

Mozambique is a transit route for African migrants, attempting to reach the large economy in South Africa to find work. At least 200 immigrants traveling into the area, traveling from

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, Malawi and

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

have been arrested at the check point in 2020 with all indicating they were traveling to South Africa.

Incident

Immigration staff discovered the victims after they stopped the vehicle, which had crossed the

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

from

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeas ...

, at a checkpoint in

Tete Province Tete is a province of Mozambique. It has an area of 98,417 km² and a population of 2,648,941 (2017 census). Tete is the capital of the province. The Cahora Bassa Dam is situated in this province. Districts On March 21, 2013, Mozambi ...

in northwestern Mozambique and heard noises from inside it. Outside temperatures for the day in Tete were around 34°C or 93°F. The surviving occupants said that they are Ethiopians who were traveling to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

Victims

All the dead were male and are believed to have

asphyxiated Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that can ...

. The Ethiopian embassy in South African announced via Facebook that all the deceased victims had been identified with help from the surviving individuals.{{Cite web, url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/africa/deaths-of-64-migrants-in-mozambique-turns-spotlight-on-intra-africa-smuggling-1.4213321, title=Deaths of 64 migrants in Mozambique turns spotlight on intra-Africa smuggling, last=Hayden, first=Sally , author-link=Sally Hayden , website=

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

, language=en, access-date=2020-04-13 The

International Organization for Migration The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations agency that provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers. The IOM w ...

stated that the survivors were being treated for severe

dehydration In physiology, dehydration is a lack of total body water, with an accompanying disruption of metabolic processes. It occurs when free water loss exceeds free water intake, usually due to exercise, disease, or high environmental temperature. Mil ...

and exhaustion. Survivors were screened for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

and put into quarantine.

Aftermath

The driver and his assistant – both of whom are Mozambican – were arrested. A provincial immigration spokesman told reporters that the driver told police that he had been promised 30,000 meticais (S$720) to transport the men, causing a manhunt to be launched for the intermediary who promised payment.

Reactions

Ethiopian Prime Minister and Nobel Laureate

Abiy Ahmed Abiy Ahmed Ali ( om, Abiyi Ahmed Alii; am, አብይ አሕመድ ዐሊ; born 15 August 1976) is an Ethiopian politician who has been the 4th prime minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia since 2 April 2018. He won the 2019 ...

used Twitter to express his condolences. Ethiopia's President

Sahle-Work Zewde Sahle-Work Zewde (, born 21 February 1950) is an Ethiopian politician and diplomat who is the president of Ethiopia since 2018, being the first woman to hold the office. She was elected as president unanimously by members of the Federal Parli ...

also expressed her condolences.

References

2020 disasters in Africa Deaths by dehydration Deaths from asphyxiation Immigration to South Africa Migrant disasters 2020 crimes in Mozambique March 2020 crimes in Africa Ethiopian diaspora 2020 in Ethiopia 2020 in South Africa Ethiopia–Mozambique relations Ethiopia–South Africa relations Mozambique–South Africa relations 2020 in international relations Tete Province Transport disasters in 2020