More than 180 dead as Tanzania ferry sinks

An overcrowded ship carrying more than 600 people sank in deep sea near one of Tanzania's top tourist destinations on Saturday, leaving at least 189 people dead and 572 rescued so far.

Many others are missing, and most of those are children.

A survivor, Khamis Mohamed, said the ferry was carrying hundreds more than its official capacity of 600.

Throughout the day, police waded through the clear waters to shore, carrying bodies on stretchers, wrapped in brightly colored cloth and blankets. The smallest bundles —the children — they carried in their arms.

The ferry, the MV Spice Islanders, was heavily overloaded and some potential passengers had refused to board when it was leaving the mainland port of Dar es Salaam for an island north of the tourist destination of Zanzibar, said survivor Abdullah Saied.

It sank in an area with heavy currents in deep sea between mainland Tanzania and Pemba Island at about 1 a.m. Saturday.

Boats frequently traverse the route off the coast of eastern Africa, but travel times vary depending on the vessel.

"I realized something strange on the movement of the ship. It was like zigzag or dizziness," said 15-year-old Yahya Hussein, who survived by clinging to a plank of wood with three others. "After I noticed that I jumped to the rear side of ship, and a few minutes later the ship went lopsided."

Hussein said there had been many children aboard the ship. After the ship began to list, water rushed through the main cabin and stopped the engines, said Mwita Massoud, another survivor.

On Saturday night, a reporter from ITV, a local television station, said he had seen 189 bodies. The president of Zanzibar, Ali Mohammed Shein, said 572 people had been rescued and declared three days of mourning for the disaster.

"We appeal for calm to the public. The government is doing its best it can to handle the situation. There is no need to panic," Mohammed said. In the hours after the sinking, the government strongly discouraged journalists from reporting the event and tried to restrict information about the accident.

The green and hilly island of Pemba is often described as one of the best scuba diving destinations in the world. Tanzania, on the Indian Ocean, is heavily reliant on tourism to support its economy.

Thousands of residents mobbed the docks of Stone Town on Zanzibar, an island near Pemba, waiting for news. One man was screaming that he had lost 25 members of his family, including his sisters, his wife and grandsons. He was too upset to give his name. Many of the crowd were crying or screaming. All the shops were closed.

Seven bodies had washed up so far, witness Abdirizak Juma said.

Many of those present expressed anger that the ship had been allowed to leave port so overloaded and called on government officials to resign. They said the island should have divers and rescue boats, but it only has a small vessel to try to stop smuggling.

In 2006, another ship capsized at the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar, claiming hundreds of lives.