[object Object]

The death toll from a ferry capsizing on Zimbabwe's Lake Kariba has risen to 72 after authorities recovered 25 bodies on Saturday. The overloaded passenger ferry, operated by the government's Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (RIDA), overturned in choppy waters on Tuesday, marking what is believed to be the country's deadliest such disaster.

“

The Kariba RIDA boat accident death toll is now 72 after the recovery of 3 more bodies late on the 15th of August 2026.

Police confirmed the grim toll late Saturday, stating that the identification of the recovered bodies was in progress. Earlier in the day, the toll had jumped to 68 with the recovery of 22 bodies. Most of the passengers were villagers and fish traders from the lakeside communities. Officials reported the boat was authorized for 90 people but was carrying 114 adults, five crew members, and an unspecified number of children. Approximately 77 people were rescued.

Hundreds of people gathered at the district hospital in Kariba on Saturday to identify their relatives. Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Muchechesi, commander of the boat regiment involved in the search, expressed confidence in retrieving all bodies, noting that the cold winter weather was slowing the process of bodies surfacing.

“

Meanwhile the identification of the bodies recovered today is in progress.

Survivors shared harrowing accounts of the incident. Some had pleaded with the ferry driver to turn back as the vessel began taking on water shortly after departure. Chance Siyamavhu, a survivor, described watching helplessly as people struggled to save themselves. He recounted how a wave pushed the sinking vessel, allowing him and others to climb on top. "When the boat capsized, most of the people scrambled to get the life jackets but most of them did not even know how to use them," Siyamavhu said. "Most people could not make it."

“

So far today we have managed to take 22 bodies.

An emotional public memorial service was held in Kariba before burials began. Lake Kariba, which straddles the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia, is the world's largest man-made lake by volume.

“

We are confident that we will manage to retrieve all the bodies.