Police in Zimbabwe confirmed on Saturday that 22 more bodies had been recovered from Lake Kariba, bringing the death toll from Tuesday's ferry capsizing to 68. The vessel, which was overloaded, went down during heavy winds, and 18 children are among the deceased, marking the country's deadliest disaster of its kind.
Recovery efforts continue as search teams retrieve more bodies
The ferry, authorized to carry 90 people, was packed with 114 adults, five crew members, and an unspecified number of children when it capsized on the lake bordering Zambia. Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Muchechesi, commander of the boat regiment leading the search operation, said, "So far today we have managed to take 22 bodies. We are confident that we will manage to retrieve all the bodies."
Most of the passengers were villagers and fish traders living around the lake. The civil protection unit reported on Wednesday that 77 people had been rescued. Hundreds gathered at the district hospital in the lakeside town of Kariba to identify relatives and loved ones.
Memorial service held before burials begin
A public memorial service took place in Kariba, nearly 280km (175 miles) north-west of the capital Harare, on Thursday, before burials commenced. Survivors recounted pleading with the ferry driver to turn back as the vessel began taking on water shortly after departure.
Chance Siyamavhu, 45, told the Agence France-Presse: "Thank God that a wave pushed the sinking vessel and we managed to climb on top. When the boat capsized, most of the people scrambled to get the lifejackets but most of them did not even know how to use them. Most people could not make it."
Lake Kariba's history and previous incidents
Lake Kariba, the world's largest manmade lake by volume, stretches more than 200km (124 miles) and is up to 40km (25 miles) wide in places. Created in the 1950s during British colonial rule when the Zambezi River was dammed, it displaced about 57,000 people.
In 2014, 26 people, 24 of them children, drowned in Zambia's part of the lake when a boat transporting them to independence day celebrations capsized. On the Zimbabwean side, five passengers drowned in a 2021 incident.
