Twenty-two people have died and more than 60 are feared drowned after a pleasure boat sank on Lake Victoria, Ugandan police said Sunday.
The vessel carrying close to a hundred revellers sank during bad weather on Saturday in the latest deadly incident to affect passenger boats on Africa’s largest lake.
“Twenty-two bodies have been recovered and 26 people rescued,” said Asuman Mugenyi, director of operations for the Uganda police. “According to one of the survivors there were more than 90 people on board.”
The boat, on which party-goers were drinking, dancing and listening to music, sank a short distance from the shore off Mutima in Mukono District, close to the capital Kampala.
Mugenyi said overloading and bad weather were likely to blame.
“We expect (the number of passengers) is beyond the capacity of the boat. It was overloaded and unfortunately people were drunk.
“We suspect the mechanical condition of the boat and the weather contributed to the sinking,” Mugenyi said.
“A big storm hit,” said local government official Richard Kikongo. “It can be fine on land but bad weather on the lake.”
Kikongo said first responders were among the victims.
“Fishermen on two small boats could see that the boat was sinking and went to help.
“People tried to jump onto the boats but they were too many and those sunk. The rescuers died too,” he said.
Nearby residents said the vessel was hired out for parties every weekend and often overloaded with revellers.
The Mutima Country Haven resort had been converted to a triage centre and morgue on Sunday morning where police were collecting the swollen bodies of victims
Police spokesman Emilian Kayima said rescue efforts were continuing.
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