Please follow us on Truth Social, X, YouTube, Minds, Telegram, Rumble, GETTR, Gab, Instagram
The Zimbabwe police confirmed that 92 people have died in the ferry disaster in Lake Kariba. Initial reports had put the death toll at 84. Police say all the bodies have not yet been recovered. A total of 40 police divers have been deployed in addition to four police boats for the recovery operation. Police say they expect to recover all the bodies.
The ferry capsized on August 11 during high winds with as many as 153 passengers on board. Police confirmed 18 of the victims were children, ranging in age from 14 months to 10 years. The ferry — named the Mbuya Nehanda DDF — had an official seating capacity of 90 passengers, meaning it was carrying nearly twice its rated limit when it went down.
The region has severely limited transport infrastructure and no meaningful public transit. The ferry service connects remote rural and fishing communities in the area to the town of Kariba in northern Zimbabwe. For many passengers, it is not a convenience — it is the only way in or out.
Hundreds of people waited outside a local hospital over the weekend to identify their family members among the recovered bodies. President Emmerson Mnangagwa said the tragedy highlighted serious safety failures and called the disaster “tragic.” He has not announced a timeline for when safety measures would be implemented.
Officials say the Lake Kariba ferry accident is the deadliest of its kind in Zimbabwe’s recorded history.
Lake Kariba is a large man-made lake bordering Zimbabwe and Zambia and is one of the largest reservoirs in the world by volume. The lake is a lifeline for communities that have no other means of access to supply chains, health care, and markets. Overloaded, under-regulated ferry traffic has long been a known hazard on its routes.
‘NO AD’ subscription for CDM! Sign up here and support real investigative journalism and help save the republic!
