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Nairobi (AFP) – Tanzanian rescuers rushed on Friday to find dozens of people reportedly drowned after a boat capsized in Lake Victoria, Africa's largest lake, killing at least 86 people.
The MV Nyerere reportedly transported up to 200 passengers – double the capacity of the ferry – when it capsized near the pier on Ukara Island on Thursday, according to media reports. 39; State.
Witnesses reached by AFP said the ferry capsized when passengers rushed to one side to disembark at the wharf approach.
Mwanza Governor John Mongella told state television that 42 bodies were found Friday morning, in addition to 44 the day before. "The total number of deaths is 86," he said.
Mongella added that the number of survivors had also increased from 37 to 40, but it was unclear whether additional survivors had been found since rescue operations were resumed by police and army divers on Friday morning. .
"The operations are continuing," he said.
Rescue operations were suspended overnight and hopes of other survivors faded the day after the sinking of the ship.
The state broadcaster quoted witnesses as saying more than 200 people boarded the ferry at Bugolora, a town on the largest island in Ukerewe, where the market was filled with people and goods.
"I did not hear either my father or my younger brother who were on the ferry.They had gone to the market in Bugolora to buy a school uniform and other supplies for the new school term," Domina said. Maua. look for information about loved ones.
Davita Ngenda, an elderly woman in Ukara, had already received bad news. "My son is among the recovered bodies," she says, crying. "He had gone with his wife but she has not been found yet, my God, what did I do to deserve this?"
Sebastian John, a teacher, said these tragedies were now part of the lives of those living on the lake.
"Since my birth, people have gone to death on this lake, but what should we do? We did not choose to be born here, we have nowhere to go," he said. -he declares.
It remains unclear how many people are still missing.
– Overload and "negligence" –
The Tanzanian agency of electricity, mechanics and services, which is responsible for ferry services, said the number of passengers aboard the MV Nyerere was unknown.
The aging ferry, whose hull and propellers were all that remained visible after it was overturned, was also carrying goods, including bags of corn, bananas and cement, when it capsized about 50 meters from the ferry. Ukara pier.
The cause of the accident was not immediately identified, but overload is often the cause of such incidents.
President John Magufuli was "deeply saddened" by the disaster and called on Tanzanians to "stay calm in these difficult times," spokesman Gerson Msigwa said.
The country's opposition, however, accused the government of "negligence".
"We have often expressed concerns about the poor condition of this ferry, but the government has turned a deaf ear to it, and we have repeatedly denounced this negligence," said John Mnyika, deputy secretary general of Chadema.
Mnyika said the overload was "another failure of the authorities" and criticized "inadequate relief efforts as well as delays" in the rescue operation.
With an area of 70,000 square kilometers (27,000 square miles), oval-shaped Lake Victoria is roughly the size of Ireland and is shared by Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya.
Headaches are not uncommon in the massive lake, and the number of deaths is often high because of the shortage of lifejackets and the fact that many people in the area can not swim.
The deadliest accident in recent decades occurred in May 1996, when nearly 800 people were killed after the sinking of their ferry on the Mwanza Road in Tanzania.
Lake waters can be rough and boats are often poorly maintained, while ferry operators often fail to record the number of passengers on board.
About twenty people were killed in December 2016 when their boat spilled into Lake Victoria while it was carrying passengers to the mainland of Uganda for the Christmas holidays.
And in March 2012, only two survivors were found after a boat carrying sixty people capsized on the lake in Uganda.
