Historical eventSeptember 202018

Sinking of MV Nyerere

At least 161 people die after a ferry capsizes close to the pier on Ukara Island in Lake Victoria, Tanzania.

Everything on September 20Original source

In context

When
Thursday, September 20 20188 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
21st century · 2010s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 2018-09-20.

Place: Lake Victoria, Tanzania.

Type: sinking.

What happened

Incident Capsizing The ferry was running its route from Bugolora on Ukerewe Island to Bwisya on Ukara Island on 20 September 2018 with passengers and a cargo of maize, bananas, and cement as well as a tractor. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] It went down in the afternoon, 50 metres (160 ft) from the dock of its intended destination in the Ukerewe District . [ 4 ] [ 5 ] Two survivors of the wreck, Ochori Burana and Ruben Mpande, said the man steering the vessel,

Reactions and consequences Immediate Magufuli expressed his sadness and declared four days of national mourning in the aftermath of the capsizing. [ 1 ] He subsequently ordered the arrest of the ferry's management, accusing them of gross negligence for having overloaded the vessel beyond its stated capacity of 101. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] Opposition politician John Mnyika accused the government of having failed to enhance ferry safety standards,

MV Nyerere was a Tanzanian ferry that capsized on 20 September 2018 while travelling between the islands of Ukerewe and Ukara on Lake Victoria. The Tanzanian government have declared that 228 people died as a result of the capsizing while 41 could be rescued. The capsized ferry was successfully righted, retrieved and unloaded more than one week after the disaster.

September 20 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 19971997 Atlantic hurricane season
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  5. 20032003 Maldives civil unrest
  6. 2007Jena Six
  7. 2008Islamabad Marriott Hotel bombing
  8. 2011Don't ask, don't tell
  9. 2017Hurricane Maria
  10. 2018Sinking of MV Nyerere
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Everything we record for 2018 →

Sources

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“Sinking of MV Nyerere”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/sinking-of-mv-nyerere-2018-september-20, accessed October 27, 2026.

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Questions about this entry

When did Sinking of MV Nyerere happen?

September 20 2018 — 8 years ago, on a Thursday.

Where does this text come from?

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