The police marine unit have retrieved 20 bodies from Lake Victoria after a canoe carrying at least 30 people capsized on Wednesday morning.
Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesman Patrick Onyango said another nine people have been rescued from the water.
“The incident happened at 5am. So far 20, people have been confirmed dead, and nine (9) rescued. The boat was carrying bags of charcoal, fresh foods, silver fish among others,” Onyango said.
The accident occurred as the canoe was en route to Katabi Town Council, Wakiso district, from Lwanabatya and Ntuuwa landing sites in Kalangala district.
According to sources, the canoe came under strong waves shortly after passing Jaana Island, towards Nsazi Island in Mukono district, deep in the night.
“They raised a distress call and changed route. They were heading to Kasenyi but instead turned to Nsazi. As they approached the island, the canoe capsized, and twenty died instantly and 10 people survived,” said a source in Entebbe.
Onyango attributed the accident to overloading and bad weather.
“Rescue efforts are underway with teams from Police Marines, UPDF Fisheries Protection Unit and local community on the waters trying to locate the missing people. We appeal to members of the public who travel on waters to always wear life jackets and not to over load their vessels,” he said.
It is worth noting that the death toll from accidents on Ugandan water bodies is often high due to many users ignoring safety measures.
Despite her numerous lakes and rivers, Uganda’s water transport network remains one of the most forgotten sectors in the country. Most boats on Ugandan lakes are obsolete, unlicensed or uninsured and the landing sites are in deplorable state.
This unregulated water transport has resulted in many fatal boat accidents due to unchecked overloading, sailing on undesignated routes and use of defective boats and canoes. Water transport is usually risky during the period between January to March and July to August as a result of strong winds and turbulent waves on the lake .But due to rising water levels on Lake Victoria ,Lake Kyoga and LAKE Albert ,strong winds these days strike regularly ,especially at night .
A recent survey done by Makerere University School of Public Health indicate that 2,066 drowning cases were recorded in 14 sampled districts between January 1, 2016 to June 30,2018. Majority of the drowning cases accounting for 1,332 were fatal, representing 64 percent.
