At least 10 people dead after boat capsizes in Lake Victoria

Ten people drowned after the boat they were in capsized in Lake Victoria near Honge Beach in Bondo.

According to the area Beach Management Unit Chairman Elly Odhiambo Masinde, the boat had 20 people on board and was transporting maize and bananas to Usenge beach.

“It capsized after it was hit by strong winds on Tuesday night,” he told Radio Ramogi.

The other 10 people–nine adults and one child–were rescued by fishermen who on a routine fishing expedition at the time of the incident.

The BMU chairman said the boat regularly transports food items from Uganda to Usenge Beach.

Assistant Chief of Got Agulu sub-location Fredrick Ochieng Abuonji added that the search for the ten bodies is ongoing.

They appealed for government support to enable them to retrieve those bodies from the lake.

In May this year, a ferry with an unknown number of passengers capsized in Lake Victoria.

The water bus was plying the Mageta Island—Usenge beach route in Siaya County when the incident occurred.

Sources say the boat could have been hit by strong winds and high tides partly attributed to rising water levels of Lake Victoria.