A passenger boat capsized off the Tanzania-Kenya border in the Indian Ocean Monday, sending everyone aboard into the water and killing five, authorities said.
The bodies of the five people who perished in the tragic incident were pulled out of the water in Kenya’s side Mombasa, and six others are still missing, said Musa Kilakala, the District Commissioner of Tanzania’s Pangani, who confirmed the incident.
“Our security forces are collaborating with their counterparts in Kenya to gather information. We will provide updates in due course,” Mr Kilakala told Anadolu News Agency by phone.
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He said the marine vessel had been bringing people from Zanzibar to his administrative district of Pangani in the Tanga region when it tipped over following a rough storm in the waters.
The last time Tanzania faced a similar tragedy was in January 2022, when ten people died after a boat ferrying mourners capsized in Zanzibar.
However, its worst maritime disaster in decades happened in September of 2011, whereby nearly 200 people drowned after an overloaded ferry capsized as it sailed from Zanzibar to Pemba island.
This latest one comes amidst warnings from meteorologists about a tropical cyclone called Hidaya, which, they say, can cause atmospheric disturbances that spur hurricanes and typhoons, dangerous rapidly rotating storms in the Ocean.
Local authorities from both countries have been issuing watches, warnings, and advisories to fishermen, travellers and people living near the Indian Ocean, telling them to expect heavy rains as a result of the cyclone.
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