LUSAKA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in Zambia's boat accident has climbed to 15 following the retrieval of seven more bodies, the police said on Thursday.
Zambia Police Deputy Public Relations Officer Danny Mwale said two bodies were retrieved around 6:00 p.m. local time on Wednesday, while five were retrieved in the early hours of Thursday, bringing the total number of retrieved bodies to 15.
He said in a statement that out of the retrieved 15 bodies, 11 have been identified as Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) nationals, while four are Zambians.
The accident happened in the early hours of Tuesday when a boat that was carrying 32 people capsized on Lake Mweru due to strong waves on the lake.
The boat, carrying mostly Congolese nationals, was heading toward the Kashobwe area of the DRC from Kilwa Island on the Zambian side.
This is the third recent boat accident in Zambia. Fourteen people died after a boat capsized on Lake Bangweulu on March 31; eight died after a boat capsized in Luangwa District in Lusaka Province on April 2.
