Harare. A boat filled with more passengers than its capacity capsized in Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe Boat Tragedy). At least 15 people died in the accident, while 27 people are missing. Giving information, the National Disaster Management Agency said that 77 people were rescued and taken to an island in the lake.
Zimbabwe's Civil Protection Unit said that based on ticket sales records, the boat was carrying 114 adult passengers and five crew members. However, the number of children under the ticket age limit may be unknown and may not have been recorded. The agency said the boat had a capacity of 90 people.
Local MP Mutsa Murombedji posted a video. He told that in this, people were standing on the shore and bidding farewell to the old boat which was about to start its journey. He said people from rural areas use this boat to travel to Kariba town via the lake.
According to the video, some people present on the shore were also worried about whether the boat would be able to remain safe amid the strong waves in the lake. Earlier, Zimbabwe Police had said that a rescue operation was going on, but it did not give any other information related to the incident.
Zimbabwe's state broadcaster ZBC released video showing speedboats heading towards a boat that appeared to have capsized in the lake. A helicopter was also seen hovering above it. Lake Kariba, located in Southern Africa, forms part of the border between Zimbabwe and its neighboring country Zambia.
It is the largest man-made lake in the world in terms of water volume. It was created by damming the Zambezi River in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Due to the dam, the valley gradually filled with water and a huge lake was formed.
This lake is now more than 200 kilometers long and up to 40 kilometers wide in some places. Both Zimbabwe and Zambia share this lake. The official border between the two countries passes through the middle of the lake.