Tanzania says ferry sinks on Lake Victoria

NAIROBI, Apr 28: Tanzanian police said today that a ferry had sunk in its waters on Lake Victoria, with an unknown number of passengers killed.

''People have drowned, but I have no more information,'' Tanzanian police spokesman Juma Mtumwa said by telephone from Dar es Salaam.

A Tanzanian newspaper, Mwananchi, said 28 people, including eight crew members, were killed. But that could not be immediately confirmed. The paper named the boat as MV Nyamanga.

It was not immediately clear when the accident took place.

As on other African waterways, disasters are common on Lake Victoria, the continent's largest lake, because of overcrowding, and poor safety and communication equipment.

Prior to the latest incident, nearly 100 people had lost their lives so far this year on Lake Victoria, which borders Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya, according to local media.

Reuters