At least 15 people have died and 27 are missing after an overcrowded ferry capsized on Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe, proving once again that the lake's beauty is matched only by its capacity for tragedy.

The boat, which had a capacity of 90 people, was carrying 114 adult passengers, five crew members, and an unknown number of children, according to Zimbabwe's civil protection unit (CPU), citing ticket sales. Because who needs accurate passenger counts when you have a schedule to keep?

A crew member told the national broadcaster ZBC that there were 153 people onboard when the ferry overturned on Tuesday after hitting large waves. A passenger told ZBC that the boat began taking on water about 30 minutes after leaving the lakeshore town of Kariba, heading for islands and fishing camps - just a routine trip that turned into a watery nightmare.

A specialized underwater team was flown to the area, the CPU said, as search and rescue continued on Wednesday. A video shared by ZBC on Tuesday showed several people appearing to be sitting on the upturned ferry, while at least four speedboats came to their aid and a helicopter circled overhead. Because nothing says 'efficient rescue' like a helicopter doing circles while you cling to a capsized hull.

Maxwell Kanhema Page, a media practitioner who originally posted the video shared by ZBC, reshared a video on his Facebook page filmed from the shore, noting that the lake was 'angry.' He said: 'A few moments later I get over 200 calls about [the ferry] sinking. A sad day indeed.'

Lake Kariba is the world's largest human-made lake by volume, stretching about 150 miles along Zimbabwe's northern border with Zambia. It was created in the 1950s during British colonial rule, when the Zambezi River was dammed, displacing about 57,000 people. The Kariba dam supplies at least a third of both countries' electricity, though it seems the lake has a knack for generating more than just power.

It is not uncommon for boats to overturn on the lake. In 2014, 26 people, 24 of them children, drowned in Zambia's part of the lake when the boat meant to transport them to independence day celebrations capsized. On the Zimbabwean side, five drowned in a 2021 incident and three were feared dead in an October 2023 capsizing. The month before, a police boat overturned although no one died. Because consistency is key, even in disaster.