Dozens killed as ‘overloaded’ ferry capsizes in Tanzania

AT LEAST 44 people died last night after a packed ferry capsized on Lake Victoria in Tanzania, according to officials.

The ferry, called the MV Nyerere, capsized in the Ukurewe district of Mwanza.

A local official told the BBC it was overloaded and may have had more than 400 people on board.

The death toll was expected to rise when rescue efforts resumed at dawn but John Mongella, a commissioner in the Mwanza region, said he could not speculate as to the number.

One local official told Reuters it was feared the eventual death toll could be more than 200. Mr Mongella said 37 people had been rescued before efforts were suspended at nightfall due to poor visibility.

Officials were struggling to ascertain the precise number of people on board because the person dispensing tickets had drowned, and the machine recording the data had been lost.

According to the Tanzania Electrical, Mechanical and Electronics Services Agency, which operates ferry services, the boat capsized a few yards before docking.

Reports suggested it did so after large numbers of passengers moved to the same side of the boat all at once. Theresia Mwami, a spokesman for the agency, said the ferry did not have any mechanical problems and had undergone maintenance in recent months.

Adam Malima, a regional commissioner, said: “We pray to God to give us hope in such an accident. We pray to God to give us hope that there has not been a high death toll.”

Boats on Lake Victoria are often packed with too many passengers. In 1996 around 900 people died when the MV Bukoba capsized on the lake.