ENTEBBE.
Tragedy has struck once again on Lake Victoria with an overloaded wooden boat commonly known as Kinaala carrying charcoal and passengers capsized .
According to survivors, the accident happened around 3am as they were sailing from Kalangala Islands to Nakiwogo in Entebbe Municipality .
A total of 12 people –all traders dealing in charcoal were on board and only five survived –implying that seven are still missing .
“We were 12 people on board,” Bukenya said. “One of the women was from Buwunge in Bufumira Sub-county. Three others came from Kaazi Bugaba. One person died after getting entangled in the anchor. Some survived by the grace of God.” Moses Bukenya,one of the survivors narrates his ordeal.
Bukenya said their boat was hit by strong waves as they approached Kavenjanja landing site ,near Bussi Island in Wakiso District.
Patrick Onyango , the police spokesperson in Kampala Metropolitan area said he was yet to get details about the tragedy .
“I don’t have facts now , let me first inquire from Aviation Police and Marine and we shall issue a statement later ,” he said
This latest boat accident comes one year and eight months after Ministry of works and Transport banned boat travel at night, following a deadly incident on August 2, 2023, in which 16 people died.