At least seven health workers have died after their boat capsized on Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania, according to the office of President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
The tragic incident occurred on Friday as the medical team was traveling to the village of Kagunga, located near the Tanzania–Burundi border, to provide healthcare services to residents.
A presidential statement said the boat overturned after encountering strong winds, causing it to sink.
Authorities confirmed that 14 people were rescued and are currently receiving treatment at a nearby hospital, while search teams continue efforts to locate two individuals still missing.
The Kagunga area hosts thousands of Burundian refugees, many of whom have recently begun returning to their home country after spending years in refugee camps in Tanzania. Health workers and humanitarian organisations have been providing medical assistance and other services to displaced communities in the region.
In a separate incident on the same lake, a fisherman was killed and two others were injured when their canoe was struck by lightning.
President Hassan extended her “heartfelt condolences” to the families of those affected by the tragedy.
The incident comes amid severe weather conditions across parts of East Africa, where heavy storms have triggered floods and landslides that have killed at least 80 people in Ethiopia and more than 60 in Kenya in recent days.
