Death toll rises to 31 in Tanzania ferry accident

Officials say the death toll in a ferry accident off the coast of Tanzania has risen to 31.

A government statement on Thursday also said that more than 100 passengers are still missing, and 136 have been rescued.

The ferry, the MV Skagit, left Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital of Tanzania, on Wednesday en route to the island of Zanzibar.

One accident survivor, Rashid Mohamed, said that heavy winds caused the boat to lose control and flip over just a few kilometers (miles) short of Zanzibar’s main port.

Stormy weather is hampering rescue efforts and family members are thronging the port for news on missing loved ones.

Last September more than 200 people were killed when a crowded ferry traveling between two islands of Zanzibar sank.