This UGC image, verified by AFP on August 12, 2026, shows passengers being rescued after a boat capsized on Zimbabwe’s Lake Kariba following an encounter with strong waves on August 11, 2026. [Credit: AFP]
No fewer than 44 people drowned after an overcrowded ferry capsized on Zimbabwe’s Lake Kariba, police said Wednesday, releasing an updated toll a day after the disaster.
A witness told AFP soon after the government ferry sank in rough weather on Tuesday that bodies could be seen in the water as rescuers tried to reach the vessel.
It was carrying 114 adult passengers, five crew members and an unspecified number of children when it went down, the Civil Protection Unit said.
The Rural Infrastructure Development Agency vessel, which ferries people between the northern town of Kariba and several islands and fishing villages, had the capacity for 90 people, it said.
