KARIBA, Aug. 19 (NewsDay Live) — Two weeks after the Mbuyanehanda ferry capsized on Lake Kariba, one body remains unidentified and unclaimed at Kariba District Hospital Mortuary, amid continuing efforts to account for victims of the disaster.
A hospital source said the deceased is believed to be a girl aged between 17 and 19. She was wearing a grey hoodie inscribed “New York Department Police” and a black jean skirt when her body was recovered.
The source said identification had been difficult because no relatives had come forward.
“No one has come to claim the body of this young soul,” the source said. “The body has been lying in the mortuary for days.”
The body was recovered in the days following the disaster, which killed 94 people when the Rural Infrastructure Development Agency-owned ferry capsized near Long Island.
While most victims have been identified and buried by their families in Nyaminyami, Kariba and Binga, the girl remains at the hospital awaiting identification.
Local community radio station Kasambabezi FM has been broadcasting a description of the deceased, urging people with missing relatives to contact Kariba District Hospital.
“It’s heartbreaking,” a mortuary attendant said. “She is just lying there. Someone must be looking for her.”
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Mashonaland West Civil Protection Unit chairperson Cecil Chitiyo said authorities were continuing efforts to trace the girl’s relatives.
“We urge anyone with missing relatives from the Mbuyanehanda disaster to come forward to Kariba Hospital,” Chitiyo said.
The development comes as a Cabinet-approved inquest into the disaster is expected to begin, with questions still surrounding the final number of victims and the circumstances that led to the ferry sinking.
For now, the unidentified teenager remains at Kariba District Hospital, her identity unknown to authorities and her family yet to be found.
