Eighty people have been confirmed to have died when the government-owned Mbuya Nehanda ferry capsized on Lake Kariba on Tuesday.
In a statement issued on Sunday, 16 August 2026, the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) confirmed that eight more bodies had been recovered by 2 pm, raising the death toll to 80.
“ZRP update as at 1400 hours today. The Kariba RIDA boat accident death toll is now 80 following the recovery of eight more bodies on 16th August 2026,” reads the statement.
The latest recovery marks another grim increase in what has been a steadily rising death toll since the vessel went down on Tuesday, 11 August, while en route from Kariba to Chalala.
The tragedy occurred when the Rural Infrastructural Development Agency (RIDA) passenger ferry, which was reportedly overloaded with fishing communities, their catch and basic goods, capsized on the lake.
In the days that followed, a joint search operation comprising the ZRP Sub-Aqua Unit, the Zimbabwe National Army and local fishermen was launched to comb the water for victims.
The number of fatalities has been climbing daily. By Saturday, 15 August, police had confirmed 69 deaths after recovering 23 bodies earlier that day, a sharp rise from the 46 previously recorded. Later on Saturday evening, divers retrieved three more bodies, pushing the official figure to 72 as of 8 pm.
That toll has now risen again. Sunday’s recovery of eight more bodies by 2 pm has taken the total to 80, making it the deadliest maritime accident in Zimbabwe.
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