The Ferry That Capsized Near Shore

Added: 2026-06-04

[00:00:00]The ferry was close enough to shore that people were already preparing to get off.

[00:00:04]Families waited on Ukara Island.

[00:00:06]Passengers gathered their bags. Then the MV Nyerere began to lean.

[00:00:11]At first, it may have felt like a normal shift in the water. But the ferry was overloaded. People had moved toward one side. Cargo was packed on board. And within seconds, the vessel rolled over near the dock.

[00:00:23]Some passengers were thrown into Lake Victoria. Others were trapped inside as the ferry flipped upside down.

[00:00:30]Rescuers rushed from shore, but the disaster had happened too fast.

[00:00:34]By the time it was over, more than 200 people were dead. And one man, a ferry engineer, was found alive after spending more than 40 hours trapped inside an air pocket beneath the overturned hull.

[00:00:47]The ferry had almost made it home.

[00:00:49]That was the part people could not forget. It capsized near shore.

[00:00:54]Close enough to see safety, too far to reach it.

[00:00:57]Full story now on our channel.