More than 200 people were killed when an overcrowded Tanzanian ferry capsized on Lake Victoria on Thursday.
Bodies continue to float to the surface around the vessel as rescue operations persist.
The death toll from the incident has risen to 223, Xinhua reported citing Isack Kamwelwe, Minister for Works, Transport and Communications.
Rescuers carry a body of a passenger retrieved after a ferry MV Nyerere overturned off the shores of Ukara Island in Lake Victoria, Tanzania, Sept. 22, 2018. /VCG Photo
So far, 199 out of the 223 bodies have been identified, according to Kamwelwe.
An engineer from the ferry was rescued Saturday, TBC reported. He, as one of eight engineers aboard when the ferry capsized, locked himself inside the engine room since Thursday.
The ferry with a capacity for 101 passengers and 25 tons of cargo capsized on Lake Victoria at around 1 p.m. local time on Thursday, close to the pier on Ukara Island.
Volunteers arrange the coffins containing the dead bodies of passengers retrieved after a ferry MV Nyerere overturned off the shores of Ukara Island in Lake Victoria, Tanzania, Sept. 22, 2018. /VCG Photo
Witnesses said that the ferry sank when passengers rushed to one side to disembark as it approached the dock.
More than 300 people had reportedly boarded the ferry at Bugolora, a town on the larger Ukerewe Island, where it was a market day, according to witnesses.
Rescue workers retrieve a body off the shores of Ukerewe Island on Lake Victoria, Tanzania, September 21, 2018. /VCG Photo
On Friday, Tanzanian President John Magufuli ordered the arrest of those responsible for the sinking.
In a speech aired on TBC 1 public television, Magufuli said: "It appears clear that the ferry was overloaded."
The president also declared four days of national mourning and said the government would cover the funeral expenses of the victims.
An aerial image shows the capsized ferry MV Nyerere, which killed over 200 people in Lake Victoria, Sept. 21, 2018. /VCG Photo
Preliminary investigations showed that the state-owned ferry was overloaded and was being manned by someone who was not the authorized captain of the vessel.
A full investigation into the accident directed by Magufuli is still underway.
The last major ferry accident on Lake Victoria occurred in 1996 in the same region and claimed the lives of at least 500 people.
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More than 100 dead in Lake Victoria ferry capsizing
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