A boat that was travelling from Bukasa, Kalangala District to Entebbe mainland carrying over 30 people for the Christmas festival has Friday capsized on Lake Victoria.
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Bukasa’s inhabitants are largely fishermen and farmers. It is a favourite for foreign tourists, though none were among the dead.
Kalangala DPC, Mr Richard Musisi said only six bodies have so far been recovered, four people rescued while 20 are still missing.
“About 20 confirmed dead, 10 have been rescued”, Musisi said. “Of the 20 who died we have managed to retrieve four bodies from the lake.”
“We can’t at the moment put a finger on what happened. Whether it was overload or the waves”, he said.
He says they had no life jackets on by the time of the accident at about 11. 40 am.
He appealed to people using the lake as a means of transport to use safety gears.
Maritime Police have on several occasions called on fishermen who use their fishing canoes to carry passengers across the lake to leave the task to those who own boats meant for transport.
Deadly accidents are common on Ugandan waters. In November about 10 people drowned when a boat capsized on Lake Albert in northeast Uganda.
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