Six children - five of them from the same family - have died when a fishing boat overturned close to a Mozambican tourist resort.

According to the privately-owned television, STV, the vessel went under in bad weather on its way to Vilankulos town from the island of Magaruke in the Indian Ocean.

The maritime authorities in the southern Mozambican province of Inhambane say the boat was carrying 20 people at the time.

The local maritime authorities blamed bad weather for the accident.

Accidents are common on Mozambique's rivers, lakes and sea waters, with most due to bad weather or overloading.