HARARE(National Times)- Search and rescue operations continued on Wednesday after a government passenger ferry capsized on Zimbabwe’s Lake Kariba, claiming at least 44 lives, authorities said.

A witness said that after the ferry sank in rough weather on Tuesday bodies could be seen in the water as rescuers tried to reach the vessel, which was entirely overturned.

Passengers had pleaded with the driver to turn back in the rough waters, local media quoted a survivor as saying. The civil protection unit (CPU) said overnight that 77 people had been rescued and 15 bodies retrieved from the Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (RIDA) ferry.

The Zimbabwe Republic Police updated the toll, saying on X: “The ZRP informs the public that the death toll in the Kariba RIDA boat accident is now 44.”

It is one of the worst recorded passenger boat disasters on the lake, which is on the border with Zambia and more than 300 kilometres northeast of the capital, Harare.

The vessel transports people between the northern town of Kariba and islands and fishing villages around the vast stretch of water, the largest man-made lake in the world. It provided a vital link for villagers and traders from rural areas to the Kariba commercial hub.

A survivor told the ZBC broadcaster that passengers had asked the driver of the ferry to turn back because of the choppy conditions but he refused. The vessel may also have been damaged because it was taking on water, said the woman, whose name was not provided.

“We went ahead with some water in the boat while the waves were also getting stronger and rocking the boat. We pleaded with him to phone the captain but he said to us we were not in a position to tell him what to do,” she said.