Unguja. A man who is yet to be identified and is believed to be in his 30s jumped off a ferry and drowned into the ocean.
The incident happened on January 21, 2024, on the Zanzibar 3 ferry, which was traveling from Pemba to Unguja.
The Director General of the Zanzibar Maritime Authority (ZMA), Sheikha Ahmed Mohammed, said that the man jumped overboard and the ferry circled three times in an attempt to rescue him, but was unsuccessful.
In addition to the ferry, other vessels and fishing boats were also used to search for the man, but due to bad weather conditions, they were also unable to find him. However, efforts to find him are still ongoing.
"As you can see, he fell and people tried to search for him, but they couldn't find him," Mohammed said. "The biggest challenge is the weather, as you can see the weather has not been good for the past two days and there is a strong wind."
Due to the weather conditions, Mohammed said that "you couldn't tell someone to take their boat into that kind of environment."
He said that the issue of rescue is a national one and that all stakeholders are working together to ensure that the man is found.
He said that when these things happen, they involve other stakeholders with boats who help each other, but the wind was too strong to tell someone to go out to sea.
He said that they will continue to search for him today to see if they can find him, as there are many stakeholders who are involved, including fishermen.
He said that the man was with his brother, who reported to the port upon arrival that his brother had a mental illness.
The Minister of Works, Transport and Communications, Dr. Khalid Salum Mohammed, said that after the efforts to find him on Sunday failed, they will continue to search for the young man today.
"The information I have now is that the efforts are continuing after failing on Thursday, I will give you more information later when it happens."
The Public Relations Officer of the Tanzania Customs and Border Guard Service (KMKM), Ahmada Ahmada, said that the force will continue with rescue efforts.
