Death toll rises after former Wash. ferry capsizes in Tanzania
ZANZIBAR, Tanzania (AP) - Officials say the death toll in a ferry accident off the coast of Tanzania has risen to 31.
A government statement on Thursday also said that more than 100 passengers are still missing, and 136 have been rescued.
The ferry, the MV Skagit, left Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital of Tanzania, on Wednesday en route to the island of Zanzibar.
One accident survivor, Rashid Mohamed, said that heavy winds caused the boat to lose control and flip over just a few kilometers (miles) short of Zanzibar's main port.
Stormy weather is hampering rescue efforts and family members are thronging the port for news on missing loved ones.
Last September more than 200 people were killed when a crowded ferry traveling between two islands of Zanzibar sank.
A government statement on Thursday also said that more than 100 passengers are still missing, and 136 have been rescued.
The ferry, the MV Skagit, left Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital of Tanzania, on Wednesday en route to the island of Zanzibar.
One accident survivor, Rashid Mohamed, said that heavy winds caused the boat to lose control and flip over just a few kilometers (miles) short of Zanzibar's main port.
Stormy weather is hampering rescue efforts and family members are thronging the port for news on missing loved ones.
Last September more than 200 people were killed when a crowded ferry traveling between two islands of Zanzibar sank.
What are you saying in your news??
Are you trying to say that because this is a boat that came from Seattle that it will be the WSF fault?
I think not..They over load their boats and they cause their own demise.
Why can't the reporter simply say "Breaking news in Tanzania; boat capsizes and kills 21 so far"; News at a 11:00 pm.
Greed is the real culprit here, maybe there was strong winds but if you don't pack the boat to over capacity then it wouldn't have sunk. I blame the ferry system, not our old ferry.
I think 8ball has it covered....like many vessels in that part of the world, they are often overloaded and/or operated outside the parameters under which they were designed and certified. The passenger count in the article (236) is only a few over the limit listed in the builders data (230) so I suspect that passenger luggage and passenger distribution coupled with the weather reported and possibly shiphandling are to blame.
Another thing to blame on America. I'm with Magic 8 Ball. IMHO it was overloaded or not maneuvered correctly. It could be many things and then it could be their laws are softer than ours and no proper supervision or inspections are done.
I agree but I do not think they blaming the U.S. but rather our news giving the great NW connection.
Somehow I can't believe that it was heavy winds that caused this ship to capsize. I've got a feeling that it was grossly overloaded and unbalanced, and the wind might have just been the straw that broke the camel's back.
 @Magic 8 Ball Yuppers.