More than 200 bodies have been recovered after an overloaded ferry sank off the coast of Zanzibar yesterday.
A Tanzanian government said that 192 bodies had been claimed by relatives and 28 more were awaiting identification.
The bodies have been taken to a sports field, where imams are saying prayers and the bodies are being washed and wrapped in white according to Islamic custom.
The MV Spice Islander sank in an area of deep sea and strong currents in the early hours of yesterday morning with hundreds more people aboard than its official capacity of 600.
The number of total passengers is still unclear and officials expect the death toll to rise.
Rescue teams have resumed their search for victims, in what has become a recovery operation.
"We will continue to look for bodies, but there is no hope any more of finding people alive. We are looking for the bodies so they can be buried," police spokesman Mohamed Mhina said.
Meanwhile, Tanzania has begun three days of national mourning for the victims of the tragedy, one of the worst maritime disasters in Africa in the past decade.
