Rescue operations are continuing after a boat carrying dozens of people capsized on Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe on Tuesday, officials said.
Seventy-seven people had been rescued, the national disaster management agency in the southern African country said.
The vessel capsized with ninety passengers and five crew members onboard, but may have been overloaded, with other reports suggesting a higher number based on the registered ticket sales. Police said.
A strong wave overturned the vessel, police said. Online footage appears to show the hull floating in the water.
Lake Kariba, on the border with Zambia, is one of the world’s largest man-made reservoirs, facilitating transportation and fishing, and providing vital hydroelectric power to both countries.
The Zimbabwe Civil Protection Unit, CPU, said registered ticket sales showed 114 adults were on board. There could also have been an unknown number of children under ticketing age, it added.
Local MP Mutsa Murombedzi posted a video on X of what she said was the boat at the start of the journey, saying residents had been using it to travel across the lake to Kariba town, a journey approximately five hours.
“We have very hard questions that need honest answers. The officials must release the right number of people who were onboard,” she wrote.
The CPU said that 77 passengers had been rescued so far while 15 bodies had been recovered.
It said two funeral homes were collecting bodies
Those rescued from the water by rescue teams, aided by an underwater search unit, have been taken to Long Island, a small island on the lake.
