Three drown in lake Victoria
What you need to know:
- Misfortune. Three fishermen drowned after strong waves broke their boat. Two bodies have been recovered.
KALANGALA. Three fishermen have drowned in Lake Victoria. The incident occurred on Tuesday in Bujumba Sub-county, Kalangala District.
A witness, Mr Ivan Ssendijjo, said the trio where retrieving their nets from the lake when strong waves struck their boat, breaking it.
“When water entered the boat, it couldn’t float anymore and later capsized. We tried as much as we could to save them but we couldn’t establish where they were,” Mr Ssendijjo said.
Bodies recovered
The officer in charge of Kalangala Police Station, Mr Ivan Tenywa, told journalists that police had recovered the bodies of two of the fishermen from the lake.
By press time the search for the third body was ongoing.
Mr Maurice Kalanzi, the coordinator of Swim Safe Uganda, a non-government organisation currently training islanders on water rescue skills, called upon the government to enact and enforce laws to ensure safe travelling on water.
Twelve people have so far drowned in the island district in a period of only two months, according to the Kalangala Police records.
Six residents were recently rescued by the marine police from a capsized boat near Kitobo Landing Site in Kalangala District.
