10 Die In Zanzibar Boat Tragedy

Dar es Salaam, Jan 5 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Jan, 2022 ) :Ten people died when a boat ferrying people to a funeral in the Indian Ocean archipelago of Zanzibar capsized, police said on Wednesday.

Another 15 people were rescued after the incident late Tuesday, and rescuers were still searching for others possibly missing.

The vessel encountered a mechanical problem as it was transporting people from Chakechake on the island of Pemba to the Kisiwa Panza islet, said South Pemba police chief Richard Mchomvu.

"Rescue efforts are ongoing until we are satisfied that all people were removed from the water.

There was no manifest in the boat and therefore it's not clear how many people were onboard," he told AFP by phone.

Hussein Mwinyi, the president of Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous region of Tanzania, sent his condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to those injured.

It was not immediately known how many people had been hurt in the tragedy.

Pemba resident Ali Kombo said he suspected that overloading could be a cause of the accident.