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Tanzania ferry disaster toll rises to 151
NAIROBI, Sept 22, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The death toll after a ferry capsized
in Lake Victoria has risen to 151, state-run TV station TBC said Saturday as
rescue workers pressed on with the search to find scores more people feared
drowned.
“Operations resumed early this morning,” TBC said.
Late Friday, the toll had stood at 131, with 40 people known to have
survived after the MV Nyerere capsized close to the pier on Ukara Island on
Thursday.
The vessel may have been carrying as many as 200 passengers — double the
ferry’s capacity — according to reports on state media.
Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Friday ordered the arrest of the
management of the ferry.
Witnesses reached by AFP said the ferry sank when passengers rushed to one
side to disembark as it approached the dock.
In a speech broadcast on TBC 1 public television, Magufuli said “it appears
clear that the ferry was overloaded”, adding that “negligence has cost us so
many lives… children, mothers, students, old people”.
“I ordered the arrest of all those involved in the management of the ferry.
The arrests have already begun,” he added.
The president declared four days of national mourning and said the
government would cover the funeral expenses of the victims.
Hopes are fading that more survivors might still be found.
State television cited witnesses reporting that more than 200 people had
boarded the ferry at Bugolora, a town on the larger Ukerewe Island, where it
was market day when locals said the vessel was usually packed with people and
goods.
“I have not heard from either my father or my younger brother who were on
the ferry. They had gone to the market in Bugolora to buy a school uniform
and other supplies for the new school term,” said Domina Maua, who was among
those seeking information about loved ones.
Davita Ngenda, an elderly woman in Ukara, had already received bad news.
“My son is among the bodies recovered,” she said, weeping. “He had gone
with his wife but she has not been found yet. My God, what did I do to
deserve this?”
Sebastian John, a teacher, said such tragedies had become part of life for
those living on the lake.
“Since my birth, people have gone to their deaths on this lake, but what
are we to do? We did not choose to be born here, we have nowhere to go,” he
said.
– Overloading and ‘negligence’ –
Tanzania’s Electrical, Mechanical and Services Agency, which is responsible
for ferry services, said it was unknown how many passengers were aboard the
MV Nyerere.
The ageing ferry, whose hull and propellers were all that remained visible
after it overturned, was also carrying cargo, including sacks of maize,
bananas and cement, when it capsized around 50 metres (55 yards) from Ukara
dock.
The cause of the accident was not immediately clear, but overloading is
frequently to blame for such incidents.
The country’s opposition has accused the government of “negligence”.
“We have often raised concerns about the poor condition of this ferry, but
the government turned a deaf ear. We have repeatedly denounced this
negligence,” said John Mnyika, deputy secretary general of Chadema, the main
opposition party.
Mnyika said overloading was “another failure of the authorities” and
criticised “inadequate relief efforts as well as delays” in the rescue
operation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of Uganda and Kenya
offered their condolences, while Pope Francis in a statement expressed “the
greatest solidarity with those who have been bereaved” by the disaster.
With a surface area of 70,000 square kilometres (27,000 square miles),
oval-shaped Lake Victoria is roughly the size of Ireland and is shared by
Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya.
Capsizes are not uncommon in the massive lake, and the number of fatalities
is often high due to a shortage of life jackets and the fact that many people
in the region cannot swim.
The deadliest such accident in recent decades was in May 1996, when around
800 people died after their ferry sank on the way to Mwanza in Tanzania.
BSS/AFP/GMR/1352 hrs