TANZANIA FERRY TRAGEDY: Death toll rises to 207

Divers yesterday rescued a man from the wreck of an overcrowded Tanzanian ferry that capsized on Lake Victoria on Thursday, killing at least 207 people.

Bodies continued to float to the surface around the vessel, which initial estimates suggested was carrying more than 300 people. State broadcaster TBC said the death toll had reached 207.

Rescuers search to retrieve bodies from the water after a ferry overturned off the shores of Ukerewe Island on Lake Victoria, Tanzania, on September 21, 2018. Photo: Reuters

Four navy divers resumed their search inside the sunken MV Nyerere early on Saturday after hearing sounds that suggested signs of life.

They pulled one man out of the overturned ship and he was rushed to hospital, a Reuters witness said. His condition was not immediately known.

Tanzanians mourn as a rescue operation is underway yesterday, a day after the ferry capsized. Photo: AFP

On Friday, President John Magufuli ordered the arrest of those responsible for the sinking.

Dozens of relatives stood crying by the shoreline as they waited for information on their loved ones. Coffins were lined up nearby awaiting bodies being pulled from the vessel, which lay belly up in the water just metres from the shoreline.

"The ferry overturned very fast and covered us," survivor Charles Ngarima told Reuters.

Another survivor, Jennifer Idhoze, blamed the ferry had capsized because it was overloaded. "I was able to jump out of the ferry... That is how I survived," she said.

The ferry sank on Thursday evening just a few metres from the dock on Ukerewe, the lake's biggest island.