At least six health workers died after a boat capsized on Lake Tanganyika in western Tanzania while rescue teams continue searching for three people still missing.
Local authorities said the accident occurred in the morning near the Kalalangabo area in Kigoma Ujiji Municipality as a medical outreach team was traveling by boat to the remote lakeside village of Kagunga near the border with Burundi.
The team from the Kigoma District Council was transporting vaccines and medical supplies intended for local residents and thousands of Burundian refugees living in the area.
Officials said the vessel overturned after encountering strong winds and high waves that overwhelmed the small boat.
Regional fire and rescue authorities confirmed that six bodies have been recovered while three people remain missing.
Nine survivors were rescued from the water and transported to Maweni Regional Referral Hospital where they are receiving treatment.
Preliminary reports indicate that several passengers struggled to escape because a tarpaulin covering the vessel collapsed during the capsizing trapping some of those onboard underneath.
Emergency responders and local fishermen joined rescue efforts shortly after the incident though rough weather conditions complicated the search operation.
The tragedy comes as parts of East Africa experience unusually heavy rainfall linked to the early onset of the region’s rainy season.
Recent flooding and landslides have already caused dozens of deaths in neighboring countries including Ethiopia and Kenya.
Tanzanian authorities have renewed safety warnings to operators navigating Lake Tanganyika urging strict monitoring of weather forecasts amid expectations that rainfall this season could be above normal.
The deaths of the medical workers represent a significant loss for healthcare services in the Kigoma region where mobile medical teams play a vital role in delivering vaccines and essential care to remote communities and refugee populations.
Officials said search and rescue operations will continue on the lake in hopes of locating the three missing workers.
Earlier initial reports suggested seven fatalities but authorities later confirmed that six deaths have been verified so far.
