Death toll from Tanzania boat accident rises to 19

The death toll from a boating accident in the Tanzanian waters of Lake Tanganyika rose to 19 on Sunday, after divers recovered six more bodies from the water, a local official told AFP.

The accident took place on Friday morning when a boat carrying 135 passengers collided with another carrying 63 people, with an initial toll of 13 dead and nine missing.

“Until now, rescue workers have retrieved 19 bodies from the water,” regional maritime official Amaniel Sekulu told AFP, adding that three people were still missing.

Lake Tanganyika is the world’s second largest freshwater lake by volume, and borders four countries, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, and Zambia. /kga