Tanzania ferry toll reaches 225
Dodoma, Sep 23: The death toll in the Tanzania ferry capsize increased to 225 on Sunday with the recovery of seven more bodies, according to authorities.
Regional commissioner, John Mongella, said the seven bodies were discovered on the fourth day of search operations, reports Efe news.
So far, there have been 41 survivors , including an engineer who was found on Saturday in an air pocket in the upturned vessel.
According to Mongella, relatives and acquaintances have identified a total of 171 bodies, while the unidentified victims will be buried.
MV Nyerere sunk in Lake Victoria between the islands of Ukerewe and Ukara on Thursday with around 400 passengers onboard - four times the legal capacity.
President John Magufuli has declared three days of national mourning and ordered the arrest of the vessel's crew and managers from the state company that operates the ferry service for questioning.
The preliminary investigation indicates that the ferry capsized because "it was overloaded", Cabinet Chief John Kijazi said on Friday.
The vessel capsized just 50 metres 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 ferry MV Bukoba sank, leaving an estimated 615 people dead.
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Ramdas Athawale backs Fadnavis as Maharashtra CM; says Shinde can shift to Centre
New Delhi, Nov 26: RPI(A) leader Ramdas Athawale, a key BJP ally, on Tuesday called for a quick decision on the next chief minister of Maharashtra and suggested that incumbent Eknath Shinde should shift to the Centre as a Union minister.
Addressing a press conference here, Athawale also backed senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis as the next chief minister of Maharashtra, contending that the saffron party won the maximum number of seats in the 288-member Assembly and should have the right to the top executive post in the state.
He said a peculiar situation has arisen in Maharashtra where BJP leaders want Fadnavis as the chief minister, while Shiv Sena leaders want Shinde to continue in the post, citing the good work he has done over the last two and a half years.
Athawale, the Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, said NCP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has declared that he was not in the race for the chief minister.
"We need to resolve this matter, without any further delay. The election results were announced on November 23 and we should have had the oath of the new chief minister on November 26, the Constitution Day," Athawale said.
Backing Fadnavis for the post of chief minister, Athawale said Shinde can become the deputy chief minister or shift to the Centre and join the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Athawale said his RPI(A) has a presence in every part of the state, but unfortunately lost the two seats -- Dharavi and Kalina -- offered to it in the recent Maharashtra Assembly elections.
He demanded that an RPI member be made an MLC and a minister in the state government.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won a landslide victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections winning 235 seats in the 288-member House. The BJP won 132 seats, followed by Shinde-led Shiv Sena (57) and Ajit Pawar-led NCP (41). Smaller parties, who are part of the alliance, won five seats.
