MORE THAN 130 DEAD IN FERRY DISASTER

Hundreds watched Friday as body after body was pulled from a capsized Lake Victoria ferry that Tanzanian authorities said was badly overcrowded and upended in the final stretch before reaching shore.

The death toll was above 130, but horrified witnesses feared that would rise as a second day of searching neared an end.

President John Magufuli announced days of national mourning in the East African country. A criminal investigation began.

In a televised address, the president said the ferry captain had been detained after leaving the steering to someone who wasn’t properly trained, The Citizen newspaper reported.

The MV Nyerere’s capacity was 101 people but the ferry had been overloaded when it capsized Thursday, the government’s Chief Secretary John Kijazi told reporters.

At least 40 people had been rescued, he said, but the number on Friday barely rose. Dozens of security forces and volunteers had resumed work at daybreak after suspending efforts overnight, hauling bodies into wooden boats. “More than 200 people are feared dead,” based on accounts from witnesses, because passengers had been returning on a busy market day.