{"id":286,"date":"2026-08-17T07:58:52","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T07:58:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/?p=286"},"modified":"2026-08-17T08:00:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T08:00:04","slug":"death-toll-rises-to-84-after-ferry-capsizes-on-zimbabwes-lake-kariba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/?p=286","title":{"rendered":"Death Toll Rises to 84 After Ferry Capsizes on Zimbabwe\u2019s Lake Kariba"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">HARARE, Zimbabwe \u2014 At least 84 people have died after an overloaded ferry capsized on Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe, with rescue teams continuing to search for more victims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The ferry capsized on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, after encountering strong waves while travelling from the lakeside town of Kariba towards rural and fishing communities in the northwestern part of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Authorities said the vessel was authorised to carry 90 people, but estimates indicated that as many as 153 passengers and crew members may have been on board when the accident occurred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The vessel was operated by a government agency and served as an important transport link for communities around the lake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"479\" src=\"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1002059542.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-289\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1002059542.jpg 640w, https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1002059542-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Divers rescuing survivors from the Ferry accident. Photo Courtesy; Google<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Zimbabwe\u2019s disaster management authorities said 77 people were rescued, while police continued recovering bodies from the lake. At least 18 children are among those confirmed dead, including a one-year-old child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The accident has been linked to strong waves and the ferry\u2019s apparent overcrowding. Survivors also reported that the vessel began taking on water before it capsized, with some passengers reportedly pleading with the crew to turn back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared the incident a national disaster, as authorities intensified search and recovery efforts and families gathered to identify their loved ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lake Kariba, which is shared by Zimbabwe and Zambia, is one of the world\u2019s largest man-made lakes and is an important transport and economic route for communities living along its shores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Search and recovery operations remain underway as authorities work to account for those still missing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1002059518.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-287\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1002059518.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1002059518-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1002059518-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Divers rescuing survivors from the Ferry accident. Photo Courtesy; Google<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>HARARE, Zimbabwe \u2014 At least 84 people have died after an overloaded ferry capsized on Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe, with&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":288,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=286"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":291,"href":"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286\/revisions\/291"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}