A ferry accident on Lake Victoria in Tanzania has left at least 44 people confirmed dead with hundreds missing, according to reports.
The accident happened between two islands in Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa, which borders Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya.
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The ferry, MV Nyerere, was carrying hundreds of passengers, CNN reports, before it capsized.
The exact number of people on-board has not been reported and it is unknown if the ferry was overloaded.
However, local media have reported there were between 400 and 500 people on the ferry.
Speaking to local Tanzania television channel ITV, Regional Commissioner John Mongella said emergency teams are continuing their search for survivors.
Up to 37 people had been rescued by Thursday night, CNN reports. But emergency teams halted the rescue operation because of limited visibility at the scene.
In 2011, 200 people died off the island of Zanzibar, near Tanzania, when a vessel was overloaded and strong winds hit it.
It was reported the vessel had a capacity of 620 passengers but over 1000 were allowed on-board.
Newshub.
