At least six people are missing after two boats in which they were traveling on Lake Victoria capsized in two separate incidents.
According to the police, the first incident occured on Tuesday July 4, 2023 where a boat traveling from Kasi islands to Katosi in Mukono district capsized.
Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson, Patrick Onyango says aboard were an unidentified woman, a man and a load of foodstuff.
He says that due to overloading and bad weather conditions, the boat capsized and the woman drowned, while the man was rescued by fishermen.
The second incident occured on Wednesday July 5, 2023 involving a transport boat heading from Kiseba islands to Katosi in Mukono carrying 11 people and cargo consisting of 100 bags of charcoal, 40 bags of silver fish, and personal belongings.
Onyango says that this boat capsized between Jana and Kimmi and give people went missing while some 6 were rescued by another transport boat.
“Police Marines are actively conducting a search and rescue operation in the waters to locate the missing individuals, whether alive or deceased,” said Onyango Wednesday evening.
He said the primary causes of both accidents were determined to be overloading and adverse weather conditions. In light of these incidents, we appeal to all travelers who utilize water transport to prioritize their safety by wearing life jackets and refraining from overloading their vessels.
