At least 15 people have died and 27 others are missing after a ferry capsized on Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe on Tuesday, according to a statement from the country’s Civil Protection Unit. The agency reported that the vessel, which was carrying more passengers than its stated capacity, overturned after it was struck by strong waves.
In its statement, the Civil Protection Unit confirmed that 77 people were rescued from the water following the incident. The agency specified the ferry had a capacity of 90 people but was carrying at least 114 adult passengers and five crew members, a number confirmed through registered ticket sales. The statement also noted that an unknown number of unticketed children may have been on board and remain unaccounted for.
The ferry provides regular transport service between the town of Kariba, located in the northern part of the country, and various fishing camps and islands on the lake.
Zimbabwe’s national police service announced that search and rescue efforts are ongoing. The state broadcaster, ZBC, aired footage showing speedboats near what appeared to be the overturned vessel as a helicopter monitored the scene from above. Officials have deployed an underwater search and rescue team to aid in the operation.
Maxton Kanhema, a witness who spoke to the AFP news agency, said the ferry had departed in poor weather conditions. Kanhema stated that a wave may have struck the boat, causing its engines to shut down. He reported seeing a distress signal and observing responses from nearby boats. According to Kanhema, Matusadona National Park contributed a helicopter to the rescue efforts, which also involved local boats and army divers. He described seeing people in the water and said the rescue response was slowed by the adverse weather.
Lake Kariba is located on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia, approximately 300 kilometers (186 miles) northeast of Harare, the capital. It is the world’s largest man-made reservoir by volume, formed in the late 1950s after the construction of a dam on the Zambezi River.
