Many others are still unnoticed.
Andre is a foreign entrepreneur who does not want his real name to be revealed, for fear of repercussions. The memories of his three-day ordeal are etched in his mind.
He and his team had worked on the huge complex run by the French oil company Total, a few kilometers north of Palma.
It was early afternoon and he had just finished taking a shower at the Amarula Hotel when he first heard gunshots. The hotel is just one of the few in the area and popular with contractors.
Palma was attacked from three directions by Islamist militants known locally as Shabaab – or young people.
Shabaab has been campaigning brutally in Mozambique’s northernmost province, Cabo Delgado, for four years, but so far almost all of its attacks have been on villages, the province’s Christian population and security forces.
Things started to go smoothly as other foreigners living or staying in Palma began arriving at the hotel in search of shelter.
Soon, militants destroyed a local cell tower and communications fell.
Desperate calls for help
Inside the hotel, guests and staff did everything they could to avoid attracting insurgents to the hotel. All services, including food preparation, were suspended and electricity was cut off to reduce noise.
“We spent the whole afternoon trying to get help,” says Andre. Some guests who had satellite phones called anyone they could. But as the local army quickly overtook and did not materialize from the Total complex, dozens of foreigners and Mozambicans began to calm down – and pray to survive the night.
“I spent the night under a strong fire,” he recalls.
CNN audio and video from someone at the hotel tell of a frightening scene, with loud explosions of gunfire that split the night.
The next morning, the first helicopters began to float over Palma, some firing on the insurgents and others snatching a few safely.
The helicopters belonged to a South African military contractor, Dyck Advisory Group (DAG).
“DAG helicopters came and attacked the insurgents’ positions, which were close to the hotel,” says Andre.
DAG CEO Lionel Dyck told CNN in an interview on Tuesday that his people became acquainted with the people found in the hotel while “flying around Palma in search of terrorists”.
“One of my pilots landed at the hotel in the afternoon and told them he was going to get people out,” Dyck said.
“A helicopter made four trips, saving six people on the trip, 24 in total,” says Andre. “We selected people with disabilities, diseases, the elderly and made them go first.
But dozens were left behind – under siege.
Andre, who is over 50 years old, was one of the next groups of six to be rescued. But he says DAG helicopters did not return that day.
“The last helicopter left at 2.30pm, at 3.30pm, we realized they were not coming back,” he says. “We kept calling, but on the other hand we were told that the helicopters had gone to refuel.”
“Bullets flying overhead”
In his interview with CNN, Dyck explained that daylight was the main issue. “[My pilot] he took out 20 or 22 people, “he said.” It was too dark then and we had to go out. “
Dyck says his crews were still flying to Palma and rescuing civilians almost a week after the insurgents arrived.
Andre faced another night, not knowing if the terrorists would overtake the hotel.
“All this time, bullets were flying overhead, hitting trees, I was hearing explosions nearby, there was a real panic,” he says. “It was even more chaotic when we realized we were going to have to spend another night at the hotel.”
The food was running out and there was no sign of the Mozambican army or police.
“We tried to get help at all costs, each of us turning to their contacts, whoever they were, but at the other end of the line, not everyone could help,” says Andre. “It was horrible.
“I heard their cries about Allah-Akbar (‘God is great,’ in Arabic) all night. All night,” he says. “But we managed to get past it; and the next morning everyone was alive.”
He still doesn’t understand why the insurgents didn’t attack the hotel.
“We weren’t killed because they didn’t want to kill us,” he says, and wonders if the insurgents were told to stop. “They were inside the hotel, they could have shot us if they wanted to,” he says.
A terrifying escape
Early on Friday, Andre and the rest of the guests started thinking about ways to escape. “We debated whether to stay calm, waiting for them to attack and slaughter us like lambs or if we should run for it.
“Around 11.00, the helicopters returned and we thought the evacuation would resume, but we thought the helicopters had returned to carry out more strikes,” says Andre.
“We realized we couldn’t stay there.”
A convoy of 17 vehicles was assembled.
“The first car in the column was an armored vehicle and we put all the women and children in that car and the car was driving the convoy,” Andre explained. “I was right behind the car.”
Andre prepared his pickup. About 25 people crowded into it, some clinging to the top of the vehicle.
Until mid-afternoon, the convoy took a safe break, heading north to Tanzania.
“There was no fire as soon as we left the hotel, I think they were surprised by the surprise, they did not expect us to leave in these conditions.”
But a few minutes later, the convoy ambushed.
“The shootings started when we got on the dirt road,” says Andre. “A kilometer later, I felt outbursts stepping on top of the pickup, fortunately they did not hit me.
“Another 500 meters and the armored car is hit by a bazooka. It shook a little, but managed to continue,” adds Andre.
Then he was hit – a bullet that enters the car door and hits his leg.
“There was blood everywhere,” he says, his voice trembling. “I asked the person next to me to hold the steering wheel and yet I managed to drive another three kilometers with one foot.”
Along the way they saw corpses in the middle of the road. “I didn’t count them, but there were many.”
“My leg was destroyed”
Andre and the rest of the convoy drove north until they reached a fishing village near the Tanzanian border, stopping only when Andre almost fainted from blood loss.
“My leg was destroyed,” he says.
It was only when they reached the beach that the group realized that many of the vehicles had failed.
“Out of the 15 cars, only eight reached the beach. The others were left behind,” Andre explained.
Many of the occupants of the convoy are still not deputies – a week later.
Mozambique’s Defense and Security Forces (SDF), which responded to the attacks, said it regretted the death of “a group of citizens who rushed in a convoy of vehicles to leave the hotel”.
Dyck says he told people staying at the hotel that they would be there the next morning, but the occupants decided to make a run for it.
“They decided not to wait – maybe they had better information, but we knew the terrorists were out and we shot at some of them and they hired us from outside.”
The group was eventually picked up by small boats, which took them south to Afungi – and Andre was later transported to a hospital in South Africa.
She is undergoing several surgeries and a long rehabilitation. Despite his ordeal, Andre intends to return to Mozambique.
“Mozambique is a beautiful country. The problem, as in many other places in the world, is everything else.”