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Tanzanian ferry toll crosses 240
Source: Agencies |
September 12, 2011, Monday
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MORE than 240 people were killed when a crowded ferry sank off Tanzania's coast and some 600 have been rescued, officials said yesterday, figures that indicate the boat was filled beyond capacity.
Assistant police commissioner Mussa Ali Mussa, the head of police in Zanzibar, said yesterday that at least 240 people died when the ferry sank early on Saturday.
Relatives had claimed 192 bodies and 28 more were awaiting identification yesterday, said Mohammed Aboud Mohammed, the minister for state in the vice president's office on the island of Zanzibar.
He said around 600 people had been rescued and that the government was still looking for the captain of the vessel.
Survivors said the MV Spice Islanders, which sank early on Saturday near the tourist destination of Zanzibar, was well beyond its official capacity of 600 passengers.
The bodies have been taken to a sports field, where imams are saying prayers and the bodies are being washed and wrapped in white according to Islamic custom.
The government is paying for all funeral costs, he added.
Weeping families walked among them looking for their loved ones, falling into each others' arms if they recognized a relative or neighbor. Most of the corpses were wrapped in cloth with a photo of the face placed on the front. Some of the ship's passengers were mutilated when cargo fell on top of them when the boat began to list.
International charity Save the Children said it launched an emergency response for injured and traumatized children. The charity described the "incredible bravery" of young survivors, including one 6-year-old with a lifejacket who saved his 18-month-old brother by holding on to him in the sea for four hours until they were rescued.
Save the Children said it had been given clothes, food and clean water and that 79 out of 129 children it has cared for have been reunited with their families. The rest are in hospital.
"Children arrived at our center freezing, dehydrated and suffering from shock," said Mubarak Maman, Save the Children's team leader in Zanzibar.
The ferry left the capital Dar Es Salaam loaded with building materials, mattresses and passengers, survivors said. It stopped at the island of Zanzibar and then continued on to Pemba, a top diving destination.
But it began to list in the early hours of Saturday, and eventually sank in an area of deep sea and strong currents.
Assistant police commissioner Mussa Ali Mussa, the head of police in Zanzibar, said yesterday that at least 240 people died when the ferry sank early on Saturday.
Relatives had claimed 192 bodies and 28 more were awaiting identification yesterday, said Mohammed Aboud Mohammed, the minister for state in the vice president's office on the island of Zanzibar.
He said around 600 people had been rescued and that the government was still looking for the captain of the vessel.
Survivors said the MV Spice Islanders, which sank early on Saturday near the tourist destination of Zanzibar, was well beyond its official capacity of 600 passengers.
The bodies have been taken to a sports field, where imams are saying prayers and the bodies are being washed and wrapped in white according to Islamic custom.
The government is paying for all funeral costs, he added.
Weeping families walked among them looking for their loved ones, falling into each others' arms if they recognized a relative or neighbor. Most of the corpses were wrapped in cloth with a photo of the face placed on the front. Some of the ship's passengers were mutilated when cargo fell on top of them when the boat began to list.
International charity Save the Children said it launched an emergency response for injured and traumatized children. The charity described the "incredible bravery" of young survivors, including one 6-year-old with a lifejacket who saved his 18-month-old brother by holding on to him in the sea for four hours until they were rescued.
Save the Children said it had been given clothes, food and clean water and that 79 out of 129 children it has cared for have been reunited with their families. The rest are in hospital.
"Children arrived at our center freezing, dehydrated and suffering from shock," said Mubarak Maman, Save the Children's team leader in Zanzibar.
The ferry left the capital Dar Es Salaam loaded with building materials, mattresses and passengers, survivors said. It stopped at the island of Zanzibar and then continued on to Pemba, a top diving destination.
But it began to list in the early hours of Saturday, and eventually sank in an area of deep sea and strong currents.
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