When an overcrowded ferry sank off the coast of Zanzibar on Saturday night, local authorities proved incapable of responding to the disaster, leaving dive centres, sport fishing and parasailing companies to rescue hundreds of survivors.

By Lotte Vermeij

The ferry accident happened approximately 15 kilometres from Nungwi, a popular tourist destination on the northern tip of Zanzibar’s main island, Unguja. According to survivors, the ship capsized and began sinking around 23.30pm on Friday. 

One eye-witness says the ferry was dangerously overloaded when it departed, “it was the end of Ramadan so people were going home with large quantities of goods. There were approximately 1000 passengers, plus all the cargo they brought along. The ferry carried at least twice or three times more than it should have, yet port officials kept pushing people on, saying it was OK.”

Survivors say the captain started calling for assistance once the ferry got into trouble, but did not get any radio response until the ship had almost sunk at 2am.

An eye-witness from Nungwi told RNW, “around 3.30AM the beach was crowded with villagers; people were panicking and crying, not knowing if their loved ones would make it out of the water alive”.

Rescue attempts
It was still dark when crews from nearby dive centres and fishing companies went to search for survivors. Some returned to shore without success, “no GPS coordinates of the ferry’s location were available and it was pitch black out there. The ferry had sunk and the current and waves were so strong, we could not see or do anything. We did not have any information about where to search.” The search resumed again at dawn.

“A helicopter came from Dar es Salaam and showed us where to go. What we found was horrible: There were lots of people in the water. We picked up the ones who were still alive, but many had drowned. It was a terrible sight especially because lots of babies and children were floating among the debris.”

Taking responsibility
There is a growing feeling of anger among survivors that their loved ones who died where failed by the authorities.

“It is not fair the authorities keep getting away with this,” says one angry survivor. “It was bound to happen someday; they pack us like sardines on these ferries and safety issues are ignored. With only a few life jackets on board and with no emergency response system to rely on, it is a miracle that anyone survived this tragedy. The authorities need to take responsibility and address these problems, so future disasters can be prevented”.

Rescuers and survivors have begun calling for stricter adherence to safety regulations and assistance to establish an emergency response system.