Tanzania says ferry sinks on Lake Victoria

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Tanzanian police said on Friday that a
ferry had sunk in its waters on Lake Victoria, with an unknown
number of passengers killed.

“People have drowned, but I have no more information,”
Tanzanian police spokesman Juma Mtumwa said by telephone from
Dar es Salaam.

A Tanzanian newspaper, Mwananchi, said 28 people, including
eight crew members, were killed. But that could not be
immediately confirmed. The paper named the boat as MV Nyamanga.

It was not immediately clear when the accident took place.

As on other African waterways, disasters are common on Lake
Victoria, the continent’s largest lake, because of
overcrowding, and poor safety and communication equipment.

Prior to the latest incident, nearly 100 people had lost
their lives so far this year on Lake Victoria, which borders
Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya, according to local media.