Tanzania Ferry Capsizes, Killing More Than 80

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A still image taken from a video showing rescue workers at the scene on Friday after a ferry overturned in Lake Victoria.CreditCreditReuters

By Joseph Goldstein

Sept. 21, 2018

NAIROBI, Kenya — The death toll from the capsizing of a Tanzanian ferry on Lake Victoria had climbed past 80 people and may go significantly higher as search efforts continued, the authorities said on Friday.

Exactly how many passengers were packed on board the ferry, the MV Nyerere, remains unclear, as the authorities fear that the person who had handled ticketing was among those who drowned. But some estimates put the number of passengers on the boat when it overturned on Thursday at more than 300, according to Reuters.

By midday Friday, 94 bodies had been recovered — 54 women and 40 men — a spokeswoman for the Tanzania Red Cross, Godfrida Jola, said by phone. She said about 40 people had been rescued.

State radio reported that more than 100 people had died. A regional commissioner in Tanzania put the death toll at 86, according to The Associated Press.

Despite the conflicting figures, officials agree that the number is likely to rise as more victims are found.

The ferry, operated by Tanzania’s Electrical and Mechanical Services Agency, had been traveling between two islands — Ukara and Ukerewe — when it capsized Thursday afternoon, according to local reports. The islands are on the southern, Tanzanian side of the lake, which is shared by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

In 1996, a ferry operated by a Tanzanian state -entity, the MV Bukoba, sank after striking a rock, killing hundreds.

On Thursday, many of the passengers on the MV Nyerere were returning from the market. As the ferry approached the shore, many of passengers are believed to have rushed to the front of the boat, to get in position to disembark quickly, said Ms. Jola, of the Tanzania Red Cross. It may have been that sudden shift in weight that caused the boat to capsize, said Ms. Jola, who was not at the scene, but said she was relaying what she had heard from those involved in the rescue effort.