The death toll from the capsizing of a government-owned ferry on Zimbabwe’s Lake Kariba has risen to 94, authorities said on Tuesday, as the government confirmed the vessel had been carrying far more passengers than its stated capacity.
The ferry was carrying about 180 passengers as well as goods when it capsized last week, according to a government statement issued after a cabinet meeting.
Police had earlier said the vessel was designed to carry only 90 passengers. The government did not specify an official maximum capacity in its latest statement but acknowledged that the number of passengers and cargo on board exceeded its carrying limit.
The ferry was travelling from Kariba, in northern Zimbabwe, to a remote rural community on the lake when strong waves struck the vessel and caused it to overturn.
Police said on Tuesday that 94 people had now been confirmed dead, with the toll rising steadily as recovery teams continued searching the lake.
At least 77 people have been rescued, according to the government, while search and recovery operations remain underway.
State-controlled newspaper The Herald described the sinking as the deadliest transport disaster in Zimbabwe’s history, surpassing a 1991 bus crash that killed 89 people.
Lake Kariba, which lies along the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia, is one of the world’s largest man-made reservoirs.