The ferry, MV Nyerere, sank on Thursday evening just a few metres from the dock on Ukerewe, the lake's biggest island.

Works, Transport and Communication Minister Isack Kamwelwe told state broadcaster TBC the death toll had risen to 227 as of Monday afternoon.

The bodies of 172 people have been identified while 37 others have not been identified, he told the broadcaster.

The definitive cause of the capsizing is not yet known but officials have said preliminary investigation shows the ferry was carrying more people than legally permitted.

Boat accidents on Lake Victoria, which is shared by the East African countries of Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya, are common and often caused by lax safety laws, weak enforcement and old and poorly maintained vessels.

Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa told TBC officials involved in managing the ferry had been detained.

"The government will form a special investigation commission of experts which will investigate the source of the accident and legal measures will be taken against all who were involved in causing the tragedy," he said.

A search and rescue team has been attempting to flip the ship, which is belly up in the waters, back to its normal position so it can be towed to the dock.

General Venance Mabeyo, the head of the military, said this could take two to three days.

No further survivors are likely to be found after the rescue on Saturday of a man identified as an engineer of the ferry who had locked himself in the engine room.

Video footage showed the man, barefoot and head lolling, being carried quickly along a busy street by medical workers and military personnel as a siren wailed.

Australian Associated Press