Death toll from Zimbabwe ferry disaster reaches 94
A government-owned ferry that capsized on Zimbabwe’s Lake Kariba last week was carrying around 180 passengers—twice the stated capacity—as the death toll rose to 94, the government said Tuesday.
State-controlled newspaper The Herald said it was the deadliest transport disaster in the Southern African country’s history, surpassing a 1991 bus crash that claimed 89 lives, TRT World reported.
The boat was travelling from the town of Kariba in northern Zimbabwe to a remote rural community on the lake when it capsized after being struck by strong waves.
The ferry was only meant to carry 90 passengers, police said last week. While the government statement did not say the maximum number that should have been on board, it said the 180 passengers and goods exceeded “its carrying capacity”.
Police on Tuesday put the death toll, which has risen steadily over the week since the capsize, at 94.
Some 77 people have been rescued so far, while search and recovery operations continue, the government said in the statement released after a Cabinet meeting.
Lake Kariba, on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia, is one of the world’s largest man-made reservoirs.
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