No Pinoy in Tanzania ferry disaster - DFA


ABS-CBN News
Posted at Sep 23 2018 11:28 AM
Volunteers arrange the coffins containing the dead bodies of passengers retrieved after a ferry MV Nyerere overturned off the shores of Ukara Island in Lake Victoria, Tanzania September 22, 2018. Jackson Njehia, Reuters
MANILA - The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Saturday that it has not received reports of any Filipino hurt after a crowded ferry capsized in Lake Victoria, Tanzania. 
The death toll from the incident has climbed to 209, as divers continued their search in the waters around Ukara Island, where the ferry had been due to dock when it lurched over and sank on Thursday.
None of the 289 Filipinos in Tanzania were reported to be among the casualties, the DFA said in a statement citing the Philippine Embassy in Nairobi. 
The Embassy continues to monitor the search and rescue efforts, the DFA added.
The agency also conveyed its sympathies and expressed hope that more survivors would be found. 
State television cited witnesses reporting that more than 200 people boarded the ferry at Bugolora, a town on the larger Ukerewe Island. It was market day, which usually sees the vessel packed with people and goods.
The ferry sank when passengers rushed to one side to disembark as it approached the dock, some witnesses said. Others blamed the captain, saying he had made a brusque maneuver. 
Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Friday ordered the arrest of the ferry's management. He also declared 4 days of national mourning and said the government would cover the funeral expenses of the victims.
The cause of the accident was not immediately clear, but overloading is frequently to blame for such incidents.
"We have often raised concerns about the poor condition of this ferry, but the government turned a deaf ear. We have repeatedly denounced this negligence," said John Mnyika, deputy secretary general of Chadema, the main opposition party. 
Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of Uganda and Kenya offered their condolences, while Pope Francis in a statement expressed "the greatest solidarity with those who have been bereaved".
With a surface area of 70,000 square kilometers, oval-shaped Lake Victoria is roughly the size of Ireland and is shared by Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya.
It is not uncommon for ferries to capsize in the lake, and the number of fatalities is often high due to a shortage of life jackets and the fact that many people in the region cannot swim.
With a report from Agence France-Presse

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