ZANZIBAR (BNO NEWS) -- A ferry carrying more than 600 people capsized between two islands in the Zanzibar archipelago, off Tanzania, early Saturday morning, officials and witnesses said. Many are feared to have drowned.
Few details were immediately available, but the government of the semi-autonomous republic confirmed a ferry carrying many people had sank off its islands. The number of casualties was not immediately known.
On the social networking website Twitter, local resident Mikhail Romano said he responded to the scene after hearing about the accident. According to him, as many as 1,000 people were on board the ferry.
"A survivor has been pulled out, it's a 7 years old young girl," Romano wrote on Twitter. He later added that at least seven people had been rescued and that a chopper is assisting with rescue efforts.