A man from Kariba, Zimbabwe, narrated his harrowing experience of surviving a boat accident on Lake Kariba. Success Ruzvidzo, along with his son Irvin and two others, was travelling to local fishing camps to buy fish when their vessel was hit by heavy currents and capsised. While two of the passengers were rescued by other boats, Ruzvidzo and his son were washed away by the strong waters and spent the night holding onto a cooler box for safety.
The accident occurred on December 13, about 20km from the Muchenga fishing camp. Ruzvidzo said that they tried to seek safety offshore, but a powerful whirlwind hit their boat, causing it to lose control and capsize. They found themselves stranded in the water, fighting to survive, NewsDay reported. He narrated:
The heavy storm kept hitting us but we were brave enough and kept fighting for survival. Around 3pm, a boat came for rescue but before it reached the point where we were, it ran out of fuel. The storm from that time continued hitting us but we couldn’t lose hope.
We spent the night in the water after failing to get help.
We only got help around 12 noon the following day but water kept hitting us taking us to areas such as Spurwing Islands and back in deep points of the lake.
They were taken to the hospital for medical attention and later discharged.
Adan Nyekete, the captain from the inland and water department, mobilised search teams to find Ruzvidzo and his son. After an extensive search, they were located and brought to safety.
The Lake Kariba is one of the largest man-made dams in Africa. It is located in Kariba in the Mashonaland West Province. It flows between Zimbabwe with Zambia. The holiday resort has lodges, cottages, self-catering campsites and hotels which visitors may and wild animals to view.