Takemore Malunga (L) watches as pallbearers carry the coffin of his maternal uncle, a victim of the capsized passenger ferry, at the Kariba Hospital mortuary in Kariba, on August 14, 2026. (Photo by Jekesai NJIKIZANA / AFP)
Harare, Zimbabwe: Authorities retrieved 22 bodies from Zimbabwe's Lake Kariba on Saturday to take the death toll from last week's ferry capsizing to 68, as the search continued for remaining victims, the police said.
The passenger ferry overturned in choppy waters on Tuesday in a rare accident on the vast lake on the border with Zambia.
The death toll "is now 68 following the recovery of 22 bodies" on Saturday, a police statement said. It is believed to be the country's deadliest such disaster.
The police gave no details of the new victims, but most of the passengers on the vessel were villagers and fish traders who lived around the lake.
Officials say the boat was authorised to carry 90 people but was packed with 114 adults, five crew members and an unspecified number of children.
The civil protection unit said on Wednesday that 77 people had been rescued.
