More than 100 dead in Tanzanian ferry disaster
'We have often raised concerns about the poor condition of this ferry, but the government turned a deaf ear'
Nairobi — The death toll in a capsized ferry on Lake Victoria climbed to more than 100 on Friday, as Tanzanian rescue workers pressed on with searches to find scores more people feared drowned. The MV Nyerere may have been carrying as many as 200 passengers — double the ferry's capacity — when it capsized close to the pier on Ukara Island on Thursday, according to reports on state media. Witnesses reached by AFP said the ferry sank when passengers rushed to one side to disembark as it approached the dock. The death toll rose to more than 100 on Friday, according to Tanzania's police chief Simon Sirro, cited by state radio TBC Taifa. Mwanza governor John Mongella said earlier that the number of survivors was 40, but it is unclear whether any new survivors have been found since rescue operations resumed with police and army divers on Friday morning. Rescue operations were suspended overnight and hopes are fading that more survivors might still be found, a day after the vessel sank. St...
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