This archive report was first published on 24 April 2020.
Coronavirus Fear: Chinese Captain Abandons Tanzanians in Shark-Infested Waters ¶
On April 17, 2020, a Chinese ship captain and his crew appeared before the Durban Magistrates Court, where they admitted to charges of attempted murder.
The captain, Cui Rongli, and six crew members were fined after they threw two Tanzanians, Amiri Salamu, 20, and Hassani Rajabu, 30, into shark-infested waters off the coast of South Africa.
The two Tanzanians had secretly boarded the ship at Durban by climbing the anchor chain and were given food and isolated while the crew discussed what to do with them.
According to National Police Authority spokesperson Natasha Cara, the crew asked the men to wear face masks in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, but they refused.
‘The men refused to wear the face masks so were put in a separate room as their COVID-19 status was unknown and there was a fear by the crew about the virus,’ said Natasha Cara.
After three days and two nights with no food on a makeshift raft, the two Tanzanians washed up on the KwaZulu-Natal coast of South Africa, exhausted.
Locals found them and they were rushed to hospital, where paramedics said they were suffering from hypothermia, thirst, and hunger.
The MV Top Grace, the ship involved in the incident, was intercepted by police, and the captain and crew were arrested.
