Tanzanian Ferry Capsizes, Killing More Than 90

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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 90 people and may go significantly higher as search efforts continue, 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.

Officials say the ferry appears to have been overloaded, with far more passengers than was advisable. One local official said the ferry’s capacity was 100 passengers.

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.

The ferry, managed by Tanzania’s Electrical, Mechanical and Electronics 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. The ferry journey takes about an hour.

Thursday is a big market day on Ukerewe, and the MV Nyerere is typically more crowded on that day than some other weekdays, local residents said. Many of those on the boat on Thursday were returning home to the smaller Ukara Island after shopping on Ukerewe, residents said. As the ferry approached the shore around 2 p.m., many passengers appear to have rushed to the front of the boat, to get in position to disembark quickly.

The ferry was only 100 or 200 meters from shore, when “the balance of the boat was overwhelmed and it started to capsize,” said the commissioner for the local Mwanza region, John Mongella.

On the shore, dozens of people began to scream in horror and helplessness as they watched the ferry overturn. It was clear to those on shore that many people were caught underneath.

One witness, Abdallah Mohammed, said that nearby fishing boats had converged on the ferry in an attempt to rescue as many people as they could.

“The ferry continued going down as people yelled for help,” Mr. Mohammed said.

Officials said that the ferry had an overall capacity of 100 people, 25 tons of cargo and three vehicles. A new engine was installed as recently as June, officials said.

Lake Victoria, where old ferries are often overloaded with passengers, has been the site of several maritime disasters, including the 1996 sinking of a Tanzanian ferry, the MV Bukoba. The death toll in that accident was at least several hundred, and some estimates put it over 1,000.

Orton Kiishweko contributed reporting from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.