Five Bodies Recovered After Uganda Boat Accident

Five bodies have been retrieved from Lake Albert shared by Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) a day after a boat capsized.

District Police Commander for Kagadi in western Uganda,Romeo Ojara, told a news agency on  telephone on Tuesday that five bodies have been recovered so far.

“One body was recovered last evening (Monday) while four more were recovered early this morning (Tuesday). We have not yet been able to identify the bodies,” Ojara said.

He added that the marine divers were still on the lake trying to retrieve other bodies.

“There is no clear figure of the people who were on the boat when it set off from the landing site. We anticipate the number of the dead to go up. However, we shall count the bodies as they are brought out of water,” Ojara added.

Kagadi Resident District Commissioner, Lillian Ruteraho, disclosed that seven people were feared dead after the boat they were travelling in capsized on Lake Albert on Sunday night.

Ruteraho told the news agency by phone on Monday that the boat which carried a total of 18 passengers was flagged off Kitebere Landing Site at 11 p.m. local time (2000 GMT) on Sunday.

She said the boat was heading to the DRC side,adding that 11 people were rescued by local fishermen and police officers.

In May, 16 people died after a boat capsized on the same lake and the deceased were footballers and fans.