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28 March 2024

19 feared drowned off Tanzania - police

Published
By Reuters

At least 19 people were feared dead after two overloaded boats capsized and were swept away in high seas off Tanzania’s Indian Ocean coast, police said on Wednesday.

The vessels disappeared on Sunday en route between Tanga in mainland Tanzania and Pemba, an island in the Zanzibar archipelago, police said.
“One of the vessels that capsized was a passenger boat with 18 people on board. A 15-year-old boy was the lone survivor in the tragedy and was found clinging onto mangrove branches,” said Mohamed Mhina, spokesman for the Zanzibar Police Force.
“The second vessel that sank was a cargo boat overloaded with bags of charcoal. There were five crew members on board - two drowned and three survived,” he said.
Police said rescue workers were searching for survivors.