Lake Kariba ferry tragedy: Overcrowding concerns emerge as passenger count remains uncertain
At least 15 people died and 27 remained missing after a passenger ferry capsized on Zimbabwe’s Lake Kariba on Tuesday, while 77 people were rescued, authorities said.Questions over possible overcrowding and incomplete passenger records have emerged as authorities work to establish how many people were actually aboard the vessel when it overturned. Ticket records showed 114 adults on board, while five crew members were also listed, putting the recorded total at 119 against the ferry’s stated capacity of 90.Officials, however, said children below the ticketing age may not have been included in the records. This means the actual number of people aboard could have been higher and the current figure of those missing could change as authorities reconcile passenger lists with those rescued and confirmed dead.According to the Associated Press, all 77 rescued passengers reached a small island after the ferry capsized, with boats sent to bring them back. Zimbabwe’s state broadcaster ZBC showed rescue boats operating on the lake, while a helicopter was also deployed. An underwater search team was sent to look for those still unaccounted for.The Civil Protection Unit recommended that the accident be formally declared a disaster.The 114 registered adults and five crew members put the documented number aboard at 119, or 29 above the vessel’s stated capacity. The reported figures of 15 dead, 27 missing and 77 rescued also total 119.However, authorities have not confirmed whether those figures represent the same passenger group reflected in the ticket records. The possibility that children travelled without being included in the records has added further uncertainty.Authorities are now expected to compare passenger records with the names of those rescued, missing and confirmed dead to determine the actual number aboard the ferry.Questions over conditions on the lake had surfaced before the ferry set out. Footage shared by local MP Mutsa Murombedzi showed people on shore expressing concern over whether the vessel could cope with strong waves.Authorities have not linked those warnings to the capsize and have not yet identified weather conditions as the cause of the accident.Murombedzi said the ferry is used by rural communities travelling to Kariba town, with the journey taking about five hours.Lake Kariba lies between Zimbabwe and Zambia and was created following the construction of the Kariba Dam across the Zambezi River in the late 1950s.The accident comes after authorities had previously warned boat operators against carrying more passengers or goods than their vessels were designed to handle.In January 2024, a Water and Inland Department official said overloading had become a concern on Lake Kariba following a series of boat accidents and urged operators to comply with prescribed capacity limits.Safety concerns have continued. Two men died in November 2024 after a small boat carrying three people capsized during a storm. In March 2025, another accident involving a fishing vessel left one person feared dead.Local authorities have repeatedly urged boat users to avoid overloading and exercise caution during poor weather.Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority describes Lake Kariba as the world’s largest man-made lake by volume. At full capacity, it stretches about 282 km, covers around 5,580 sq km and can hold about 185 cubic km of water.The lake is up to 32 km wide at its broadest point, making boats an important transport link for communities along its shores.The immediate focus after Tuesday’s disaster remains the search for the 27 people still missing and determining how many people were actually aboard the ferry when it capsized.
