Zanzibar (Tanzania), Sep 10 (IANS) At least 163 people were killed while more than 100 are still missing after a ship with over 600 people onboard capsized near Tanzania's Zanzibar island in the Indian Ocean, officials said Saturday.


The ship was travelling Friday night from Zanzibar to its sister island Pemba 40 km away, when it capsized at Nungwi area, state minister for emergencies Mohammed Aboud was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

Aboud said 163 bodies have been recovered.

Deputy Minister of Communication and Infrastructure Issa Haji Ussi said 250 people have been rescued so far.

Rescue work is still underway, while the bodies were being identified by their relatives, officials said.

Reports said the accident was caused due to overload of passengers and cargo. Technical faults also could not be ruled out.

The government has termed the accident, one of the worst of its kind in the nation's history, as a disaster for the whole country.