Ferry death toll rises to 240 in Tanzania

STONE TOWN, Tanzania -- More than 240 people were killed when a crowded ferry sank off Tanzania's coast and some 600 have been rescued, officials said yesterday, figures that indicate the boat was dangerously overloaded.

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

Relatives had claimed 192 bodies and 28 more were awaiting identification, said Mohammed Aboud Mohammed, the minister for state in the vice president's office on the island of Zanzibar. He said the government was still looking for the vessel's captain.

"The government is holding the chief engineer for questioning in order to gather details," he said. "The captain of the ferry is still missing and the government doesn't know precisely the owner of the ferry."

Survivors said the M.V. 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.

The bodies were taken to a sports field, where imams said prayers and the bodies were washed and wrapped in white, according to Islamic custom. The government is paying all funeral costs, Mohammed said.

Weeping families walked among them looking for their loved ones, falling into each others' arms if they recognized a relative or neighbor. Most of the corpses were wrapped in cloth with a photo of the face placed on the front. Some of the ship's passengers were mutilated when cargo fell on top of them when the boat began to list.

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

The charity described the "incredible bravery" of young survivors, including one 6-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.