Zimbabwe Ferry Disaster Death Toll Rises to 84
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Harare, Zimbabwe: The death toll from an overloaded government ferry capsizing on Zimbabwe's Lake Kariba has risen to 84 after emergency rescue teams retrieved four more bodies on Sunday afternoon.
Search operations remain actively underway in an effort to locate remaining missing victims following the tragic disaster.
The passenger vessel overturned in choppy waters on Tuesday while traveling toward the town of Kariba, serving as a vital transport link for rural villagers and local fish traders.
Search teams had previously recovered 25 bodies on Saturday before locating the latest victims.
Although authorized to carry just 90 people, officials revealed the ferry held 114 adults, five crew members, and an unspecified number of children.
With civil protection units rescuing 77 survivors alongside the 84 confirmed dead, calculations indicate the vessel carried at least 161 passengers.
Survivors recounted severe safety negligence onboard, noting that life jackets were buried under heavy luggage and diesel drums, while the captain ignored passenger warnings about rough water.
Over the weekend, hundreds of grieving relatives gathered at Kariba district hospital to search for and identify loved ones lost on Lake Kariba, the world's largest man-made lake by volume.
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