Zimbabwe: Lake Kariba Boat Accident Death Toll Rises to 97 As Two More Bodies Recovered

The death toll from the Kariba Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (RIDA) boat disaster has risen to 97, after two more bodies were recovered Thursday, police has said.

Police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the two bodies were recovered from Lake Kariba on Thursday afternoon, the tenth day of the search operation.

“The ZRP reports that the Kariba RIDA Boat accident death toll is now 97 after the recovery of two bodies from the lake this afternoon,” Nyathi said.

Government has since blamed the boat’s captain, who reportedly ignored the Meteorological department’s advice not to sail, for the accident. Investigations into the circumstances surrounding the disaster are however continuing.

The vessel, operated by RIDA under the Office of the President and Cabinet, capsized on August 11 while travelling from Kariba to Chalala, carrying villagers and fish traders who routinely use the boat to cross Lake Kariba.

The rising death toll has made the tragedy the country’s worst accident in decades, surpassing the scale of the 1991 Nyanga bus disaster, in which more than 80 people died when a bus plunged into the Nyanga mountains.

Authorities have continued recovering bodies from the vast lake, while families have been gathering at the command centre in Kariba seeking information about missing relatives.

The exact number of people aboard the RIDA boat remains under investigation amid conflicting accounts from authorities and survivors.