Accidents are often reported on the large freshwater lake surrounded by Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda.Some of the deadliest have been in Tanzania, where passenger boats are often old and in poor condition.
A Tanzanian passenger ferry capsized on Lake Victoria and the death toll of 44 was expected to rise when rescue efforts resume Friday, an official said.
The Tanzanian government fears more than 200 people drowned after a ferry sunk on Thursday in Tanzania’s Lake Victoria, a senior local official said.
The rescue mission has been halted until dawn on Friday.The exact number of passengers on board the boat is unknown, but it may have been carrying 400 to 500 passengers, according to local media reports.
This latest incident underlines the issue of dangerous overcrowding on ferries in the region.The ferry was also carrying cargo including sacks of maize and cement when it capsized, close to the dock.
Regional governor John Mongella said late Thursday 37 survivors had been rescued, though some were in “a very bad condition”.
Stunned locals watched helplessly from the shore when the vessel got into difficulty just a few yards from the dock in the district.
Tanzania has seen a number of nautical disasters, with overcrowding often playing a role.
In 1996, more than 800 people were killed when the passenger and cargo ferry MV Bukoba sank on Lake Victoria.Nearly 200 people died in 2011 when the MV Spice Islander I sank off Tanzania’s Indian Ocean coast near Zanzibar.
