44 dead after ferry capsizes on Zimbabwe’s Lake Kariba
The vessel was carrying significantly more passengers than its stated capacity when rough weather struck during the journey.
At least 44 individuals perished when an overcrowded ferry capsized on Zimbabwe's Lake Kariba, police announced on Wednesday, issuing an updated casualty count one day after the tragic incident. A witness, Maxton Kanhema, informed AFP that bodies were visible in the water as rescuers endeavored to reach the vessel after the government ferry sank in treacherous weather on Tuesday.
The ferry, which transported over its authorized passenger limit, was carrying 114 adult passengers, five crew members, and an unspecified number of children. The Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (RIDA) vessel, primarily used to ferry people between the northern town of Kariba and several islands and fishing villages, had a capacity for 90 people.
Initially, the civil protection unit (CPU) reported that 77 people were rescued and 15 bodies recovered. However, the ZRP later updated the death toll to 44, marking it as one of the gravest recorded passenger boat disasters on the lake, situated on the border with Zambia and located more than 300 kilometers northeast of the capital, Harare.
The lake is the world's largest man-made lake by volume. The CPU engaged two funeral parlours to collect the bodies, and the search continued for any unaccounted individuals. A national park provided a helicopter and divers from the local area and the army joined the rescue effort alongside larger boats. Kanhema, who was on a small boat attending the scene on Tuesday afternoon, described the chaotic rescue effort, stating that the boat had left in bad weather and may have encountered a wave that caused its engines to fail.
When the distress signal was heard, nearby boats responded, and those who could be rescued were saved.
Written by urgent.news from The Citizen's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
