Death toll from Zimbabwe capsized ferry accident rises to 80

What the report says

Rescue crews in Zimbabwe recovered eight more bodies on Sunday from Lake Kariba, raising the death toll from a ferry capsizing earlier in the week to at least 80, according to France24 Africa. The vessel overturned in rough water on Tuesday in a rare accident on the large lake that lies on the border with Zambia.

France24 Africa reported that police said the passenger ferry was operated by the government’s Rural Infrastructure Development Agency and had been carrying more people than it was authorized to transport. Officials said it was licensed for 90 passengers but was crowded with 114 adults, five crew members and an unknown number of children. The search and recovery effort was still underway, with authorities warning the number of dead could rise.

The report said Saturday’s recovery of 25 bodies had already pushed the toll to 72 before the latest rise. Police did not identify the new victims, but many passengers were understood to be villagers and fish traders from around the lake, including people linked to Chalala fishing camp. In the wider context, Lake Kariba ferries are an important transport link for rural communities traveling to Kariba, about 280 kilometers northwest of Harare. Hundreds of relatives gathered at a hospital in Kariba to identify bodies, underscoring the scale of the tragedy.