KARIBA, Aug. 12 (NewsDay Live) — The confirmed death toll from the Kariba RIDA boat accident has risen to 44, police said on Wednesday.
“The ZRP informs the public that the death toll in the Kariba RIDA boat accident is now 44,” the police said in an update on their social media channels.
The latest figure comes after rescue teams on Wednesday morning retrieved more bodies near Long Island, including adults and children, according to a NewsDay witness at the scene. The bodies were taken to the mortuary in Kariba.
Police did not immediately provide a breakdown of the latest 44 deaths.
Mashonaland West Provincial Affairs minister, Mary Chombo, said she had requested that the accident be declared a national disaster.
"In the history of Kariba, we have never had a disaster of this magnitude,” Chombo said at a media breafing in Kariba on Wednesday morning.
The Civil Protection Unit had earlier said 13 bodies had been recovered by Tuesday evening, correcting an earlier figure of 15.
A total of 64 passengers had been rescued, with 57 housed at the newly activated Mahombekombe Primary School Trauma Centre and seven admitted to Kariba District Hospital. Three of those admitted had since been discharged by Wednesday morning.
Rescue teams were dispatched to Long Island early Wednesday as authorities intensified the search for people still missing after the Mbuyanehanda Ferry capsized on Lake Kariba on Tuesday afternoon.
Unusual showers fell over Kariba overnight, adding to the sombre mood as friends and relatives gathered at the hospital mortuary to identify their loved ones.
The exact number of people aboard the ferry remains unclear, with authorities still working to reconcile conflicting passenger figures.
The Mbuyanehanda Ferry, operated by the Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (RIDA), capsized near Long Island while travelling from Kariba to Chalala Fishing Camp.