Death toll in Tanzania ferry disaster rises to more than 86

Friday, September 21, 2018

Officials in Tanzania have mentioned that the death toll from a ferry sinking on Lake Victoria has risen to 86, but with hundreds of passengers thought to have been aboard, the toll was expected to rise.

 
At least 37 people have been rescued, but reports suggest that the MV Nyerere may have been carrying as many as 500 passengers.
It was reportedly traveling between the Tanzanian ports of Ukara and Bugolora Thursday afternoon when it sank.

 
There was a slight confusion about the number of passengers because the person who dispensed tickets was among the dead, according to a leading news media agency.
The ferry, thought to have been overcrowded, may have capsized when passengers moved to one side as it prepared to dock, some reports have suggested.

 
John Mongella who is the commissioner for the Mwanza region, gave the number of as 86, but Tanzania’s state radio asserted that more than 100 bodies had been found so far.

 
A leading news media agency mentions that accidents are often reported on the large freshwater lake surrounded by Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. Some of the deadliest have occurred in Tanzania, where passenger boats are often said to be old and in poor condition.

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