No Script

Please Wait...

Ramadan Kareem...

Uganda: Casualties Hit 33 in Lake Victoria Boat Accident

Uganda: Casualties Hit 33 in Lake Victoria Boat Accident
folder_openAfrica... access_time5 years ago
starAdd to favorites

Local Editor

The death toll from a boat accident on Lake Victoria over the weekend rose to 33 on Monday, Ugandan police said.

The Saturday evening tragedy occurred hundreds of meters off shore as the boat, carrying an estimated 100 passengers, was en route from one beach to another in Mukono district near the capital Kampala.

Police spokesman, Patrick Onyango said the number of bodies retrieved from the water stood at 33 on Monday while 27 people have been rescued alive. The death toll was expected to rise, he further noted.

This is the second deadly accident to happen on Lake Victoria in as many months. In September, more than 200 people died when an overloaded ferry sank on the Tanzanian side of the lake.

Divers from the police and military pressed on with efforts to retrieve bodies while equipment was deployed to try to tug the boat wreck to shore, Onyango said.

Boat cruises on Lake Victoria, which is shared by Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, are common, with mostly young people spending hours out on the waters partying.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

Comments