ARUSHA, Tanzania, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The number of people who died in Tanzania's Lake Victoria passenger ferry sinking has reached 125, authorities confirmed on Friday.

According to Mwanza Regional Commissioner John Mongella, emergency crew managed to retrieve 81 bodies on Friday; 44 bodies were retrieved on Thursday.

Tanzanian President John Magufuli has sent a message of condolences to the families of the victims.

According to sources, the ferry, with a capacity of 101 passengers and 25 tonnes of cargo, capsized at around 1:00 p.m. local time Thursday.

Authorities do not know how many people were aboard the ferry when it sank.

It is not immediately clear what caused the vessel to capsize.

The last major ferry accident on Lake Victoria occurred in 1996 in the same region, killing at least 500 people.