Twenty-two people have died and more than 60 are feared drowned after a
pleasure boat sank on Lake Victoria, Uganda. 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. A big storm hit,” said local
government official Richard Kikongo. Lake Victoria is the site of many
boat disasters. In September, hundreds died when the MV Nyerere
passenger ferry sank on the Tanzanian side of Lake Victoria. With a
surface area of 70,000 square kilometres (27,000 square miles),
oval-shaped Lake Victoria is roughly the size of Ireland and is shared
by Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. 22 people die, 60 others missing as boat capsizes in Uganda
Twenty-two people have died and more than 60 are feared drowned after a
pleasure boat sank on Lake Victoria, Uganda. 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. A big storm hit,” said local
government official Richard Kikongo. Lake Victoria is the site of many
boat disasters. In September, hundreds died when the MV Nyerere
passenger ferry sank on the Tanzanian side of Lake Victoria. With a
surface area of 70,000 square kilometres (27,000 square miles),
oval-shaped Lake Victoria is roughly the size of Ireland and is shared
by Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. 
