Boat capsizes in Zanzibar, 11 children killed

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) – Eleven school children drowned in
Zanzibar on Wednesday when a huge wave capsized the boat they
were playing in, police said.

A police official on the Indian Ocean islands said the
children had gone to play at a beach near their primary school
on the outskirts of Zanzibar town when disaster struck.

Zanzibar Education Minister Harrun Ali Suleiman said it was
a sad day for the semi-autonomous islands off mainland Tanzania
and emphasized the need to boost safety.

“I am in consultation with the president to declare it a
national disaster,” he told Reuters.

The ages of the children were not immediately available.

Zanzibar, a tourist haven of one million people, forged a
union with Tanganyika in 1964 to create Tanzania while
retaining its own parliament and president.