"I don't know how I managed to escape - I can't swim," says Muaziza Ambaraje. She was on board as Mozambique's worst sea disaster in recent memory unfolded on Monday. The 47-year-old is a regular on the makeshift ferry between Lungá, where she was born, and Mozambique Island where she lives.

Survivor Recounts the Tragedy

"No wave took us by surprise, we didn't hit any rocks, and the wood didn't come loose," she recalls. "Water got into the boat because it was overcrowded - lots of people panicked and started to jump into the sea."

A Nightmare Unfolds

Next, Ms. Ambaraje describes a nightmare jumble of bodies living and dead, as she struggled to keep afloat. More than 100 people died in the chaos on Monday, including 17 members of her family.

Her mother, father, grandmother, nieces, and nephews all died, says Ms. Ambaraje. She can't think of any reason she was spared other than God's mercy.

Response and Rescue Efforts

"I felt completely broken inside," recalls Momade Issufo, who rushed over to rescue people on Monday as soon as he heard the news of the shipwreck.

"I saw bodies piled up on the shore - some were children as young as three years old. People were panicking. "I had no choice - as a human being I had to help. There were still people in the rescue boats, so we transported their bodies in my truck to their relatives' homes."

Seeking Change

Mr. Issufo wants the Mozambique government to build a new bridge from the mainland to the island, a Unesco World Heritage Site, so people don't have to rely on the dangerous boats.

Thousands of fishing boats operate illegally as ferries along the country's 2,750km (1,708-mile) coastline, by the government's own admission.

Government's Response and Actions

The government initially declined to respond to the BBC's request for comment. An official from the country's maritime agency also told the BBC they were under instructions not to comment.

However, a local official for the province of Nampula, Secretary of State Jaime Neto, later told the BBC that transport, food, and psychological support were on offer, and coffins for the dead were being supplied.

National Mourning and Inquiry

Three days of national mourning come to an end on Friday, and an inquiry is being launched to find the cause of the accident and make recommendations.

The government's initial explanation for Monday's tragedy was that panicked people were fleeing the mainland in large numbers, after false information was maliciously spread telling them they must go to Mozambique Island to escape an ongoing cholera outbreak.