Seven feared dead as boat capsizes on Lake Victoria

The search for seven people, who are feared dead in a boat accident on Lake Victoria, entered a second day yesterday with rescuers combing the lake for survivors.

The ill-fated boat, according to police, was transporting at least nine passengers from Lwanabatya Landing Site in Kyamuswa Sub-county, Kalangala District, to Kasenyi Landing Site in Entebbe, Wakiso District, on Sunday night.

The incident occurred at around 2am on Sunday morning between Lwanabatya and Jjaana Landing sites as the nine people were sailing in a fishing boat.
 Police identified the deceased as Gloria Amito, Grace Amito, Irene Amiya, Caroline Afoyoloti and three toddlers aged between 2 to 4 years.  

Only two men identified as Mr Lawrence Nzage and Mr Patrick Lubulwa –both residents of Lwanabatya Landing Site, who used a fuel tank and jerrycans as floaters survived the accident.

Mr Ronald Sagala, a relative of Amiya and Gloria Amito, told Daily Monitor that the two accident victims were heading to their home village in Masindi District while Grace Amito and Caroline Afoloyoti together with their children were going to Nebbi District.

Mr Innocent Ochan, the Marine police commander in Kalangala District, attributed the accident to islanders who sail late using unsafe canoes and without wearing life jackets.

“The boat capsized  due to strong winds but  also it had no capacity to carry that number of  passengers,” Mr Ochan said yesterday.
He said efforts to retrieve the seven bodies are under way.

“We have also learnt that all the occupants were not wearing life-saving jackets, maybe they could have been saved,” he added.

Water transport is usually risky during the period between January  and March, and July and August   as a result of  strong winds and turbulent waves on the lake.

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.

There is no authority or marine traffic police specifically charged with regulating water transport on the lakes and rivers. The existing marine police, with its thin strength, checks smuggling, rather than safety on the lakes. 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.

Worrying Trend
Statistics from Lake Victoria Basin Commission reveal that 5,000 people drown yearly in Lake Victoria.

The most recent fatal boat accident occurred on December 22 when 20 people died after a boat carrying more than 50 passengers en route to Panyimur market in Pakwach District capsized after a strong wind hit it on Lake Albert.

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