At least 44 people have died after a ferry carrying far more than its licensed capacity capsized on Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe, according to police. The boat was rated for 90 passengers but was carrying 114 adult ticket-holders, five crew, and an unknown number of children when it hit large waves shortly after leaving Kariba town for outlying islands and fishing camps.
A crew member told state broadcaster ZBC that 153 people were aboard when it overturned. Zimbabwe's civil protection unit initially reported 15 dead and 27 missing before police revised the toll upward twice within 32 minutes, settling at 44 as bodies were pulled from the water and a specialised underwater search team was deployed.
Lake Kariba, the world's largest human-made lake by volume, was created in the 1950s by damming the Zambezi, displacing roughly 57,000 people. Boat capsizes are a recurring hazard there: 26 people died in a similar incident on the Zambian side in 2014, and Zimbabwe has recorded fatal or near-fatal overturns in 2021 and 2023.
The full dispatch is available from the source below.