TWENTY-SIX more bodies have been recovered from the ferry that capsized on a lake in Zimbabwe on Tuesday, increasing the death toll to 72.
Police investigations suggest that the boat was overloaded when it overturned on Lake Kariba. It was carrying an estimated 153 people when it left Kariba town harbour, but its maximum authorised capacity was for just 90 passengers.
Among the victims were at least 18 children, including 16 under the age of 10, according to state broadcaster ZBC. Among the youngest identified victims were one-year-old Wendy Ndandarika and 14-month-old McDonald Nyasha Gumpo and Hailly Tauro, according to local media reports.
The captain, Sign Patsikadova, 59, is also among the confirmed dead.
Search and recovery operations involving police divers, military personnel and local fishermen continued on Saturday, authorities said.
Disaster management officials said 77 people were rescued shortly after the vessel capsized. Many were taken to a nearby island before being transferred to health facilities in Kariba town.
Survivors told reporters that high winds generated choppy waves that flooded the boat shortly after departure. Passengers had urged the operator to turn back towards the shore, but the vessel continued into open water before rolling over.
Some homes have lost more than one relative.
The government has declared a national disaster and deployed welfare agencies to distribute food to affected households.
“It has been difficult to know who to console first, as almost every homestead has lost a relative, and the worst cases more than five relatives at once,” Solomon Machipisa told local outlet The Herald.
The ferry served as a vital lifeline for remote fishing communities along the lake, connecting them to food supplies, markets and essential services. Its loss has already begun affecting food deliveries, with shops that depended on the vessel facing shortages, residents told The Herald.
Accidents on the lake, the world’s largest man-made reservoir by volume, are relatively rare, making the sinking one of the country’s worst maritime disasters in decades.
Lake Kariba lies on Zimbabwe’s border with Zambia, more than 300km (186 miles) northeast of the capital Harare.