HARARE, Zimbabwe — At least 44 people have died after a passenger ferry capsized on Lake Kariba in northern Zimbabwe, police said, in one of the deadliest boat disasters recorded on the vast reservoir.
The vessel, operated by the Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (RIDA) and identified as the Mbuya Nehanda, is believed to have been heavily overloaded when it sank on Tuesday amid strong winds and rough waves. Authorities said it was carrying more than 120 people — with ticket records confirming at least 114 adult passengers and five crew members, plus an unknown number of young children not required to buy tickets. Some survivors and local reports put the total on board as high as 153. The ferry’s official capacity was 90 people.
Police updated the death toll to 44 on Wednesday after more bodies were recovered from the lake, which forms part of the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia and ranks as the world’s largest man-made lake by volume. At least 67 people have been rescued, according to police figures, and taken for medical attention; earlier reports from the Civil Protection Unit put the number of survivors at around 77, many of whom initially reached a small island in the lake before being brought to shore.
Search and recovery operations continued into Wednesday, involving police, military underwater teams, local boat operators, and a helicopter. The captain of the ferry was among those killed. Survivors described passengers pleading with the crew to turn back as waves grew dangerous and water began entering the vessel, but the warnings went unheeded.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared the incident a state of disaster to mobilise extra resources for the response and support for victims’ families. The ferry provided an essential transport link for rural communities and fishing camps around the lake to the town of Kariba.
Officials have cautioned that the final toll could still rise as searches continue for those still unaccounted for. The exact number of passengers remains uncertain due to the presence of unticketed children and conflicting headcounts.
