An overburdened ferry overturned on Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe on Tuesday, resulting in the tragic deaths of at least 15 individuals, while 27 are still unaccounted for, according to the national disaster management agency.
The agency reported that 77 people were rescued and transported to an island within the lake. However, the Zimbabwe Civil Protection Unit indicated that based on ticket sales records, there were 114 adult passengers on board, potentially leaving out children who were not ticketed.
In addition to the passengers, there were five crew members on the ferry, which had a maximum capacity of 90 individuals, as confirmed by the agency.
Mutsa Murombedzi, a local Member of Parliament, shared a video showing people on the shore waving at the ferry as it embarked on its journey. The ferry is commonly used by rural communities to travel from the lakeside to the town of Kariba. Concerns were raised in the video about the ferry’s ability to withstand the rough waves on the lake.
Zimbabwean authorities had initiated a rescue operation following the incident, with police and speedboats seen near the overturned vessel in footage released by the state broadcaster ZBC, accompanied by a hovering helicopter.
Lake Kariba, situated in southern Africa, serves as a boundary between Zimbabwe and neighboring Zambia. It holds the distinction of being the largest man-made lake globally in terms of volume, originating from the construction of a dam wall on the Zambezi River in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The lake spans over 200 kilometers in length and reaches widths of up to 40 kilometers at various points, with the official border between Zimbabwe and Zambia running through its center.
