Five killed in Lake Victoria boat accident
A fisherman rows his boat at one of the shores of Lake Victoria. At least five people were reported to drowned in Lake Victoria near Kananansi landing site in Kalangala District on September 30. Photo | File
What you need to know:
- Area residents reported that the ill-fated boat, recently repaired at Lujaabu landing site in Mazinga sub-county after experiencing mechanical issues, had eight people on board when it set sail.
Five people are believed to have died in a boat accident on the Lake Victoria waters near Kananansi landing site in Kalangala District in the early morning hours of Monday, September 30.
Area residents reported that the ill-fated boat, recently repaired at Lujaabu landing site in Mazinga sub-county after experiencing mechanical issues, had eight people on board when it set sail.
Mr Abdul Mutaawe, one of the three survivors of the accident says that they set off at about 12:00am heading to Lambu landing site, but the boat encountered heavy winds midway through the journey.
“When the waves hit our boat, the engine stopped. The water found its way into our boat yet the boat was heavily loaded with fresh fish. We jumped into the water to survive drowning,” he said, adding: “It’s unfortunate that some of our colleagues drowned as we fought to get to the mainland.”
Mr Charles Bukenya, a boat owner who responded to the distress calls from people who were on the boat says that only one person had a life jacket while the other two survivors knew how to swim.
"We first rescued the one with a life jacket while the others managed to swim to the mainland. We failed to locate the other five people in our effort to rescue the entire group,” he says.
Two of the survivors were been taken to Masaka Regional Referral Hospital for medical care.
Ms Resty Nakawungu, the Kalangala District Vice Chairperson says that the number of survivors would have been higher if all the 8 people had life jackets.
"Our people are using old engines because they can't afford new engines while many people lack life jackets. The life jackets are still expensive for our people,” she told the Monitor on Monday.
While the Police are yet to come up with an official statement, the civilian rescue teams in Kalangala say that the bodies of the five people were yet to be located.
“It is 9:30am but we are yet to locate any of the five missing people. We believe that they drowned and their respective bodies are still under the water,” Mr Peter Ssemanda, a fisherman at Kananansi landing site, said.
