NAIROBI, Sept 22 (Agencies): Divers rescued a man on Saturday as they searched for survivors from the wreck of an overcrowded Tanzanian ferry that capsized on Lake Victoria on Thursday, killing at least 207 people.
Earlier Saturday, state-run TV station TBC had put the toll at 151, but Joseph Mkundi, member of parliament for the Ukerewe district, told AFP that over 170 people were now known to have died.
But even as hopes were fading of rescuing any more survivors on the third day of search efforts, workers found alive an engineer who had managed to locate a pocket of air in the vessel.
According to Mkundi, the engineer shut himself into a "special room" with enough air to allow him to stay alive after the MV Nyerere capsized close to the pier on Ukara Island on Thursday.
This takes the number of people known to have survived to 41.
The reported figures combined mean that the ferry, which was built for 100 passengers according to state media, was carrying well over twice that number of people.
Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Friday ordered the arrest of the management of the ferry.
Witnesses reached by AFP said the ferry sank when passengers rushed to one side to disembark as it approached the dock. Others blamed the captain saying he had made a brusque manouevre.
In a speech broadcast on TBC 1 public television, Magufuli said "it appears clear that the ferry was overloaded", adding that "negligence has cost us so many lives... children, mothers, students, old people".
"I ordered the arrest of all those involved in the management of the ferry. The arrests have already begun," he added.
The president declared four days of national mourning and said the government would cover the funeral expenses of the victims.
State television cited witnesses reporting that more than 200 people had boarded the ferry at Bugolora, a town on the larger Ukerewe Island, where it was market day when locals said the vessel was usually packed with people and goods.
"I have not heard from either my father or my younger brother who were on the ferry. They had gone to the market in Bugolora to buy a school uniform and other supplies for the new school term," said Domina Maua, who was among those seeking information about loved ones.
© 2024 - All Rights with The Financial Express
