HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Survivors on Wednesday described frantic passengers pleading with the captain of an overloaded ferry to turn back from strong waves shortly before it capsized and killed at least 44 people on Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe.The number of people on board Tuesday was unclear as estimates reached as high as 153 people on a government agency-operated ferry whose capacity, authorities said, was just 90.“Some of us survived by standing on top of the capsized hull,” one of the two crew members who survived, Anyway Chambati, told state broadcaster ZBC News. “Before it went down, passengers were screaming at us that the boat was flooding, water was pouring into the engine room and goods were spilling out.”Chambati said he was in charge of ticketing and that he counted 153 people on board, including crew and infants, before the disaster.
Multiple witnesses told ZBC that passengers urged the captain to turn back as waves grew perilous, only to be dismissed. When water surged into the vessel, chaos erupted as frantic travelers scrambled for life jackets beneath their seats.“We argued with him right at the harbor. We told him the waves were too dangerous,” one woman said. “A bag fell overboard before we had even left, and we pointed it out, but he refused to listen.”Passengers told the broadcaster that bags, dishes and beer bottles began toppling overboard within minutes of setting off.
