[ad_1]
It was an amazing discovery. While rescue divers searched a capsized Tanzanian ferry two days after the disaster and the death toll exceeded 200, a man was found alive in an air bag.
He was an engineer, told reporters regional commissioner John Mongella. While the heavily overloaded ferry sank Thursday in the last stretch before reaching the shore, the man was locked in the engine room, reported the Tanzanian Broadcasting Corporation.
Video footage showed the man, barefoot and leaning head, quickly hauled along a busy street by medical and military workers while a mermaid lamented. His condition was not immediately known.
No other survivors were likely. The search effort has come to an end, so attention can be focused on identifying the dead, Tanzanian Defense Chief Venance Mabeyo told reporters at the scene.
Mass graves have been dug and colorful coffins have arrived. Hundreds of family members and others waited quietly on the shore.
A woman kneeled in the sand next to her sister's covered body and cried.
"We found him three days later and we are now transporting his body to Kamasi for burial," said Temeni Katebarira, the brother of a victim.
Earlier in the day, workers continued to shoot bodies of water. Abandoned shoes were scattered on the sand.
"From the morning until now, we have recovered more than 58 bodies, including both children and adults," said TropistaTemi, a Red Cross volunteer. "Due to congestion, we have not been able to add up, and later we will do a full count."
But the total number of deaths could never be known. No one is sure how many people were on the overcrowded ferry, which officials said it had a capacity of 101 people.
Authorities said Friday at least 40 people were rescued.
President John Magufuli ordered the arrest of those responsible. He said the ferry's captain had already been arrested after leaving the management to someone who had not been properly trained, The Citizen reported.
"It's a big disaster for our nation," Magufuli told the nation in a televised speech Friday night, announcing four days of national mourning.
Pope Francis, the UN Secretary-General, Russian President Vladimir Putin and several African leaders expressed sadness and emotion.
The MV Nyerere, named after the former president who led the country of East Africa to independence, was moving between the islands of Ukara and Ukerewe when it sank, according to the government agency responsible for the maintenance of the vessels.
Accidents are often reported on the large freshwater lake surrounded by Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda. Some of the deadliest have occurred in Tanzania, where aging passenger ferries often carry hundreds of passengers and far exceed capacity.
In 1996, more than 800 people were killed when MV Bukoba Passenger and Freight Transporter ran on Lake Victoria. And nearly 200 people died in 2011 when the MV Spice Islander I sank off the coast of the Indian Ocean in Tanzania near Zanzibar.
—
Follow the African news on https://twitter.com/AP-Africa
[ad_2]Source link
