Harare (Zimbabwe): 26 more bodies have been recovered during relief and rescue operations after the horrific boat accident in Zimbabwe's Lake Kariba. According to the police, after the recovery of these bodies, the number of people who lost their lives in the accident has increased to 72. 18 children are also included in the dead.
Police said on Saturday that the boat had overturned in the lake due to strong waves on Tuesday. A large number of bodies have been recovered so far in the ongoing search operation after the accident.
The old boat is estimated to have more passengers than its capacity.
The boat was heading north-west from Kariba town towards rural areas and fishing community settlements. Due to poor roads and limited public transport in these areas, local people depend on boats for transportation.
Authorities have not yet clarified how many people were on the boat at the time of the accident and how many passengers are still missing. However, according to estimates, there were 153 people on board the ferry, while its rated capacity was around 90 passengers.
77 people were rescued safely
According to Zimbabwe's Disaster Management Agency, 77 people have been rescued after the accident. At the same time, the situation regarding the actual number of missing people is not completely clear.
In the initial information, officials had said that the exact data of the number of children aboard the boat was not available. The reason given for this was that children below the prescribed age for tickets were not included in the estimated number of passengers.
Many small children were also among the dead.
Later, information regarding the age of the dead children came to light from the list released by the police. According to police, 16 of the dead children were aged 10 years or less. The youngest child who lost his life in the accident was just one year old.
After the accident, rescue operations and search for bodies are going on in Lake Kariba. The officials have not yet revealed the final number of missing passengers and detailed information about all the reasons for the accident.
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