BAD WEATHER ON LAKE VICTORIA LEADS TO ANOTHER TRAGEDY
(Posted 05th August 2015)
The storms sweeping across Lake Victoria right now have claimed yet more lives as reports are coming in of at least one, possibly two lake boats capsizing in the early hours of the night near Remba island close to the border line between Uganda and Kenya. It could not be reliably established if the accident happened in either Kenyan or Ugandan waters.
A rescue mission was therefore launched from both countries at daylight to prevent any possible survivors from drowning and to recover the bodies of those who died in the accident.
Large lake boats are for many island dwellers the only means of reaching the mainland and not all boats are equipped with life vests or flotation devices. At the same time are many boats regularly overloaded due to lack of monitoring capacity and at times due to bribery.
Some islands like Remba have been converted into massive fishing villages where fishermen literally work in shifts both day and night and their catch and supplies in return are regularly transported at night to mainland landing sites to reach the markets in the morning.
Initial reports speak of as many as 30 people dead but this figure could not be independently confirmed due to lack of feedback from the accident site. As and when available will updates be posted here.
