Tanzania ferry disaster toll rises to more than 170

President Magufuli orders the arrest of the ferry management

The death toll after a ferry capsized in Lake Victoria has risen to more than 170, a local deputy said yesterday, as rescue workers managed to pull another survivor from the vessel.

Earlier yesterday, state-run TV station TBC had put the toll at 151, but Joseph Mkundi, member of parliament for the Ukerewe district, told AFP that over 170 people were now known to have died.

But even as hopes were fading of rescuing any more survivors on the third day of search efforts, workers found alive an engineer who had managed to locate a pocket of air in the vessel.

According to Mkundi, the engineer shut himself into a “special room” with enough air to allow him to stay alive after the MV Nyerere capsized close to the pier on Ukara Island on Thursday.

This takes the number of people known to have survived to 41. The vessel may have been carrying as many as 200 passengers — double the ferry’s capacity — according to reports on state media.

Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Friday ordered the arrest of the management of the ferry. Witnesses reached by AFP said the ferry sank when passengers rushed to one side to disembark as it approached the dock. In a speech broadcast on TBC 1 public television, Magufuli said “it appears clear that the ferry was overloaded”, adding that “negligence has cost us so many lives ... children, mothers, students, old people”. “I ordered the arrest of all those involved in the management of the ferry. The arrests have already begun,” he added.

The president declared four days of national mourning and said the government would cover the funeral expenses of the victims.

Tanzania’s Electrical, Mechanical and Services Agency, which is responsible for ferry services, said it was unknown how many passengers were aboard the MV Nyerere.