Tanzania rescue bid as ferry sinks off Zanzibar

Habari za hivi punde

A Tanzanian ferry carrying at least 250 people has sunk near the island of Zanzibar.

An operation to rescue passengers has been launched by the navy and police. The boat had left the city of Dar es Salaam earlier in the day.
The navy said the vessel, the MV Skagit, got into difficulty because of strong winds.
A minister in Zanzibar quoted by AFP news agency said so far 12 dead bodies had been recovered.
Last September, nearly 200 people died when an overcrowded boat with 800 people aboard sank off Zanzibar.
The BBC's Aboubakar Famau in Dar es Salaam said the MV Skagit left the mainland at 12:00 local time (09:00 GMT) bound for the main island of the semi-autonomous archipelago.
The journey usually takes about two hours.
Thirty-one children are believed to have been on board, our reporter says.
A safety officer at the Zanzibar Port Corporation told Reuters news agency the ferry was now "bottom-up".
"Twelve dead bodies and 10 survivors have been recovered so far. Rescue operations continue in bad weather," Mwinyihaji Makame, state minister in the Zanzibari president's office, told journalists, AFP reports.
The route between Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar is a busy crossing, popular with both Tanzanians and foreign tourists

KWA LUGHA YA KISWAHILI

  Meli yazama Zanzibar

Habari za hivi punde

Meli iliyokuwa imewabeba takriban watu miambili imethibitiswha kuzama katika bahari ya hindi eneo la Chumbe kisiwani Zanzibar. Meli hiyo kwa jina SKAGIT ilikuwa inatoka Dar Es Salam kuelekea Zanzibar.
Kulingana na taarifa za vikosi vya wanamaji , meli hilyo ilianza kupata matatizo baada ya kutokea mawimbi makali.
Jeshi la polisi la wanamaji nchini Tanzania limeanza shughuli za kuwaokoa watu zaidi ya mbia mbili wanaohofiwa kuwa kwenye meli ya Skagit inayoripotiwa kuzama huko visiwani Zanzibar.
Kwa mujibu wa taarifa za polisi, ingawa hawajathibitisha idadi kamili ya abiria waliomo kwenye meli hiyo, lakini wamethibitisha kwamba meli hiyo imepigwa na dharuba ya upepo mkali katika eneo la Chumbe pindi ilipokuwa inatoka jijini Dar es Salaam kuelekea visiwani Zanzibar.
Itakumbukwa kwamba, ni takriban mwaka mmoja sasa tokea ajali ya meli iliyokuwa imezidisha mizigo kuzama katika pwani ya kisiwa cha Zanzibar ikiwa na watu takriban 800.