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Zanzibar ferry death toll rises to 68

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iolsa:
Zanzibar - The bodies of 68 victims of this week's ferry accident in Zanzibar have been recovered, the acting minister for disaster management Ali Juma Shamuhuna said Friday.

The real toll from the disaster is likely to be more than twice that as officials have been saying since Thursday morning there is no hope of any of the 77 passengers still reported missing being found alive.

Moreover, while Tanzanian officials said the passenger list indicated 290 people were on board the MV Skagit when it sank on Wednesday, survivors said the vessel was overloaded.

Around 145 survivors have been rescued.

In September more than 200 people perished when the MV Spice Islander, which the authorities admitted was overloaded, sank while sailing between two of the main islands in the Zanzibar archipelago. Rescue workers saved 619 passengers.

At Mnazi Mmoja hospital pathologist Marijan Msafiri said 10 bodies still had to be identified, including that of one white person, likely a European, according to the authorities.

The doctor said that Kenyans and Burundians were also among the dead and that preparations were underway to repatriate their bodies.

Several tourists were on board the ferry, including Europeans. Brussels and Berlin have confirmed that Belgian and German nationals were among the survivors. - Sapa-AFP



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