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Death toll hits 126 in Tanzania ferry disaster

Friday September 21 2018
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Rescue workers soon after the Tanzanian vessel capsized in Lake Victoria on September 20, 2018. PHOTO | THE CITIZEN | NMG

By The EastAfrican

The death toll from Tanzania's ferry disaster has hit 126, a senior government official said Friday.

Isaack Kamwelwe, Minister for Transport, Communication and Works, said 31 bodies of those recovered from Lake Victoria have been identified and families have collected them.

He was speaking at a press briefing in Ukerewe district, northern Mwanza.

The MV Nyerere sank on Thursday afternoon on its way to Ukara Island from Bugolora Island, in Mwanza.

The vessel, with a capacity of 101 passengers and about 25 tonnes of cargo, is believed to have had hundreds of people on board and many are still missing.

“The sea is calm and the rescue operation is going on smoothly. The only difficult we face is that the bodies are tangled in cargo inside the capsized vessel. We have to sort out the cargo to remove the bodies. The good thing is that the bodies are clearly visible,” Mr Kamwelwe said.

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Rescue workers recovered 44 bodies by close of search efforts on Thursday.

On Friday, the search parties have recovered some 82 bodies, the minister said.

The ferry capsized as it prepared to dock at Ukara with more than 400 people on board.

Senior government officials, including Mr Kamwelwe, the Inspector General of Police Simon Sirro and regional commissioners have been at the shores of Lake Victoria coordinating the search operations.

The ferry is believed to have toppled over when crowds on board moved to one side as it docked but Mr Sirro told journalists that forensic investigations have began to determine the exact cause of the accident.

-Reporting by The Citizen.

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