240 die on overloaded ferry off African coast

Assistant police commissioner Mussa Ali Mussa, the head of police in Zanzibar, said at least 240 people died when the ferry sank on Saturday morning.

Mohammed Aboud Mohammed, the minister for state in the vice president’s office on the island of Zanzibar said around 600 people had been rescued so far and that the government was still looking for the vessel’s captain.

“The government is holding the chief engineer for questioning in order to gather details,” said Mr Mohammed.

“The captain of the ferry is still missing and the government doesn’t know precisely the owner of the ferry.”

Survivors said the MV Spice Islanders, which sank near the tourist destination of Zanzibar, was well beyond its official capacity of 600 passengers. Many residents angrily asked why the boat had been allowed to leave port so overloaded.

Some of the ship’s passengers were mutilated when the boat’s cargo fell on top of them.

The ferry left Dar Es Salaam loaded with building materials, mattresses and passengers. It stopped at Zanzibar and then continued on to Pemba, a top diving destination. But it began to list in the early hours of Saturday, and eventually sank.

International charity Save the Children said it launched an emergency response for injured and traumatised children.

The charity described the “incredible bravery” of young survivors, including one six-year-old with a lifejacket who saved his 18-month-old brother by holding on to him in the sea for four hours until they were rescued.

It said another set of brothers – aged 7 and 9 – clung to a floating freezer to stay alive.

The charity said they had been given clothes, food and clean water and that 79 out of 129 children it has cared for have been reunited with their families. The rest are in the hospital.