Zimbabwe boat accident death toll hits 68 as 22 more bodies recovered

Eighteen children among the people killed after ferry capsized on Lake Kariba Twenty-two more bodies have been recovered after a boat accident in Zimbabwe, taking the death toll to 68, police said on Saturday. The ferry capsized on Tuesday on Lake Kariba, on the border with Zambia. An investigation has suggested it was overloaded when it turned over during heavy winds. Eighteen children were among the people killed, Zimbabwe’s police said, in what is believed to be the country’s deadliest such disaster. Most of the passengers are believed to be villagers and fish traders who lived around the lake. Officials said the vessel was authorised to carry 90 people but was packed with 114 adults, five crew members and an unspecified number of children. Lt Col Joseph Muchechesi, commander of the boat regiment involved in the search operation, said: “So far today we have managed to take 22 bodies. We are confident that we will manage to retrieve all the bodies.” The civil protection unit said on Wednesday that 77 people had been rescued. Hundreds of people gathered at the district hospital in the lakeside town of Kariba to identify the bodies of their relatives and loved ones. A public memori