The death toll in the tragedy with the ferry that capsized on Lake Victoria in Tanzania earlier in the week has climbed to 196, The Citizen newspaper reported on Saturday.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd September, 2018) The death toll in the tragedy with the ferry that capsized on Lake Victoria in Tanzania earlier in the week has climbed to 196, The Citizen newspaper reported on Saturday.
On Thursday, the MV Nyerere overturned near Ukara Island on its way from Bugorora, with rescuers starting their operations that night.
The Citizen noted citing Tanzanian state tv that 60 bodies were retrieved earlier on Saturday.
The number, combined with 136 bodies confirmed to be recovered as of Friday, increases the death toll to a whopping 196, the media outlet concluded.
The ferry capsized some 50 meters (164 feet) from the coast as it was about to dock. According to various estimates, between 200 and 400 people were on board during the tragedy, while the vessel had a capacity of carrying only 100 passengers.
According to the publication, the ferry's crash was due to a sharp turn maneuver performed by the vessel's steersman.
According to the publication, the surviving passengers of the ferry said that the man behind the wheel spoke on his mobile phone while steering and started to approach the dock from the wrong side.
"People were telling him to stop his telephone conversation and focus on the wheel. As we approached the Ukara dock we saw that he was going on the left of the dock while the disembarking area is in the right-side. He suddenly made a sharp turn," one of the passengers said, as quoted by the publication.
Due to a sharp turn, the ship leaned on one side, throwing people and cargo overboard, and when it leaned on the other side, it went under water with everyone who was on board, the passenger said.
Tanzanian President John Magufuli noted that, according to preliminary information, there was no captain on board of the ferry, and the steersman did not have the formal training, according to the newspaper.
