Photo taken on Sept. 21 shows the scene of rescue. According to sources, Tanzania's Lake Victoria passenger ferry, with a capacity of 101 passengers and 25 tonnes of cargo, capsized at around 1:00 p.m. local time Thursday. (Xinhua)
DAR ES SALAAM, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in a ferry accident on Thursday in northern Tanzania rose to 156, a senior government official said Saturday.
"We have recovered 25 more bodies this morning (Saturday morning)," Isack Kamwelwe, Tanzania's Minister for Works, Transport and Communications, told Xinhua by telephone. "Rescuers are continuing to search for more bodies."
The national broadcaster Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation, however, said on its morning news bulletin that the total number of recovered bodies in Lake Victoria had reached 161.
On Friday, Tanzanian President John Magufuli announced a four-day mourning period for the victims of the accident.
The ferry with a capacity for 101 passengers and 25 tonnes of cargo capsized at around 1 p.m. local time Thursday, according to sources.
Magufuli has ordered the arrest of safety inspectors from the Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority, the country's multi-sector transport regulatory agency.
Preliminary investigations showed that the state-owned ferry was overloaded and was being manned by someone who was not the authorized captain of the vessel.
Magufuli directed Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa and Minister Kamwelwe to launch a full investigation into the accident.
There has been public outrage over the decision made by regional authorities of Mwanza Region, whose north borders Lake Victoria, to call off the search and rescue operation after darkness on Thursday night.
Some opposition leaders have called for the resignation of top transport officials over the tragedy.
The last major ferry accident on Lake Victoria occurred in 1996 in the same region, killing at least 500 people.
