No less than
13 persons have been killed with over 203 injured in northwest Tanzania after a
5.7 magnitude earthquake hit the country on Saturday, local authorities told
AFP.
“The toll has
climbed from 11 people dead to 13 and from 192 injured to 203,” said Deodatus
Kinawilo, District Commissioner for Bukoba, the town close to the epicentre of
the quake.
“For now, the
situation is calm and under control.”
“Some people
have been discharged from hospital,” he told AFP. “We don’t expect many more
injuries. We’ll see tomorrow.”
The quake
struck close to the border with Uganda and Rwanda near Lake Victoria but the
tremors were felt as far away as western Kenya.
Rescue workers
told the BBC that local hospitals are full and cannot cope with the number of
injured. Buildings have collapsed and people are still trapped underneath the
rubble.
There was no
damage reported in the economic capital, Dar es Salaam, which is located some
1,400 kilometres southeast of Bukoba.
“It’s safe in
Dar but we are still worried about the safety of our family,” the AFP
correspondent added. “The regional hospital is overwhelmed and can’t handle any
more patients.”
“Emergency
operations are poor and the government isn’t saying anything,” he said.
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