Survivor found 2 days after Tanzania ferry capsize, toll hits 170
Dar Es Salaam, Sep 22: Rescuers working to retrieve bodies from a ferry that sank in Lake Victoria in Tanzania found a survivor on Saturday, two days after the tragedy took place, although the death toll rose to 170.
According to Tanzanian news outlet The Citizen, a man was found alive in an air pocket in the upturned vessel on the same day when another 24 bodies were recovered from the scene of the accident.
MV Nyerere sunk between the islands of Ukerewe and Ukara on Thursday with around 400 passengers onboard -- nearly four times the legal capacity. So far rescuers have confirmed only around 40 survivors.
President John Magufuli declared three days of national mourning and ordered the vessel's crew and managers from the state company that operates the ferry service arrested for questioning, Efe news reported.
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. The vessel capsized just 50 meters (164 feet) from the shore.
Victoria, Africa's largest lake, is shared by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
The Tanzanian portion of the lake was the scene in 1996 of one of the worst shipwrecks of the 20th century, the sinking of the ferry MV Bukoba, which left an estimated 615 people dead.
There has been public outrage over the decision made by regional authorities of Mwanza Region, whose north borders Lake Victoria, to call off the search and rescue operation after dark on Thursday.
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Rajasthan’s Churu Professors Abuse Dalit Law Student, Say “You Are Chamari”
Jaipur: A Dalit LL.B student in the third semester at Government Law College in Churu, Rajasthan, has filed a FIR under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, alleging caste-based abuse, threats, and discriminatory marking by two professors.
According to The Observer Post, the complaint was filed at the Kotwali Police Station on February 27, in which the complainant, Meena Meghwal, 30, has accused Professor Apoorva Sharma and Professor Anil of making insulting caste remarks, threatening to fail her, and deliberately awarding her low grades. Police at Kotwali station in Churu filed a case under Sections 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(s) of the SC/ST Act and initiated further investigation. The case has been forwarded to Deputy Superintendent of Police Sunil Kumar Jhajharia, Circle Churu.
In her written complaint, Meghwal, Toruram Meghwal's daughter and a native of Kharia village in Jhunjhunu district, revealed that the alleged incident occurred during a college function in December 2025 and that Professor Sharma grew irritated when she raised a question during the programme.
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According to the complaint, the professor allegedly used casteist slurs in front of other students and told her, “You are chamari, you are from a lower caste. You cannot do LL.B. It is not your job,” and also threatened to fail her. The student also named classmates Akash Deep, Akash Mishra, Himanshu and Prem Prakash as being present at the time.
Meghwal further alleged that after the December incident, she continued to face humiliation, claiming that in her practical exams, she was given six marks out of 20, while in other subjects, she earned 12 to 13 points from other instructors.
On February 21, when she sought a reason for the low marks, she alleged that Professor Sharma told her, “It is my wish. I did it. You people are low caste.”
The student said she submitted a written complaint to the college administration but no action followed.
After the FIR became public, Naveen Kumar Nandan, a journalist associated with BAMCEF, shared a copy of the complaint on social media platform X and wrote, “It is very dangerous if the allegations are true.”
Some local sources cited by The Observer Post claimed that there had been earlier complaints regarding the behaviour of the accused professor. Few students have also claimed that during examinations, Scheduled Caste students were targeted and treated discriminatorily. Students have reportedly expressed reluctance to talk publicly due to fears over low attendance or practical marks. These reports have not been independently verified.
