Boat sinks in Zimbabwe's Lake Kariba with 95 people on board

What the report says

At least several people are feared dead after a boat carrying passengers and crew sank on Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe, according to BBC World News. Police said the vessel capsized on Tuesday while rescue efforts were still under way. The incident happened on Kariba dam, on the border with Zambia, in a region where the lake is widely used for transport and fishing.

BBC World News reported that the boat had 90 passengers and five crew on board, though other accounts suggested the number may have been higher. The paper noted that ticket records cited by Zimbabwe’s Civil Protection Unit showed 114 adults were registered, with the possibility of additional children who were below ticketing age. A witness told AFP the vessel had left in the morning in poor weather, and may have been struck by a wave before overturning.

Lake Kariba is one of the world’s largest man-made reservoirs and is important to both Zimbabwe and Zambia, including for hydroelectric power generation. A local member of parliament, Mutsa Murombedzi, said people in the area had been using the boat for a journey to Kariba town that can take about five hours. Authorities said more details on deaths and rescues would be released later as the search continued.