At least 15 people died and 27 others are missing after an overloaded ferry capsized on Zimbabwe's Lake Kariba on Tuesday, the national disaster management agency reported. Seventy-seven passengers were rescued and taken to an island on the lake.
The Civil Protection Unit stated that ticket sales confirmed 114 adult passengers and five crew members aboard. However, the agency noted that an unknown number of children below ticketing age may have also been on the vessel, which has a capacity of 90 people.
A local member of Parliament shared a video that appeared to show the aging ferry departing with people on the shore waving. She indicated that rural communities use the boat for travel to the town of Kariba. The video also captured some individuals on the shore expressing concern about the ferry's ability to withstand strong waves on the lake.
Lake Kariba, located in southern Africa, straddles the border between Zimbabwe and neighboring Zambia. It is recognized as the world's largest man-made lake by volume. The lake was formed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when a dam wall was constructed to dam the Zambezi River, leading to the inundation of a valley. The lake now extends over 200 kilometers (124 miles) in length and reaches up to 40 kilometers (25 miles) wide in some areas. The official border between Zimbabwe and Zambia runs through the middle of the lake.