Boat with 95 people capsizes on Zimbabwe’s giant Lake Kariba

A ferry capsized on Lake Kariba near the Zimbabwe-Zambia border, resulting in the tragic loss of 68 lives, according to police reports on Saturday. The ferry, which crossed the lake on Tuesday, is believed to have been overloaded with 114 passengers and five crew members when it capsized during heavy winds. Among the victims were 18 children, making this the deadliest boating disaster in Zimbabwe's history. Most of the passengers were villagers and fish traders who resided in the vicinity of the lake.

The death toll has now risen to 68, following the recovery of 22 more bodies on the same day, stated Lt Col Joseph Muchechesi, the commander of the boat regiment involved in the search operation. He expressed confidence that the remaining bodies would soon be recovered. Meanwhile, the civil protection unit had announced the rescue of 77 individuals earlier in the week.

At the district hospital in Kariba, a town located on the lake's shores, hundreds of people gathered to identify the remains of their loved ones. A public memorial service was held in Kariba on Thursday, nearly 280 km (175 miles) north-west of the capital, Harare, before the burials commenced.

Several survivors recounted their harrowing experiences. Chance Siyamavhu, a 45-year-old survivor, shared with Agence France-Presse that they managed to escape the sinking vessel when a wave pushed it, allowing a few people to climb on top. However, he noted that many passengers, unaware of how to use life jackets, struggled to survive.

Lake Kariba, the world's largest man-made lake by volume, spans over 200 km (124 miles) and reaches up to 40 km (25 miles) in width. It was formed in the 1950s during British colonial rule when the Zambezi River was dammed, displacing around 57,000 people. In 2014, a similar incident occurred on the same lake, where 26 people, 24 of them children, drowned in Zambia's portion when their boat capsized during independence day celebrations. On the Zimbabwean side, five passengers lost their lives in a 2021 incident.