Umar Mudhasi, a fisherman who participated in the rescue efforts told URN that the victims were not wearing life jackets when their boat capsized.
Marine
police officers and fishermen in Buyende district have retrieved the bodies of three
women who drowned in Lake Kyoga on Sunday night. The dead are Ruth Kawala,
Rose Batuli and Tapenensi Wozira.
The trio is
said to have drowned when their boat capsized while sailing from Bukungu fish
plant to Isumba landing site in Buyende district. Fishermen attempted to rescue
the women but their efforts were frustrated by strong evening winds on the
lake.
Umar Mudhasi, a fisherman who participated in the rescue efforts told URN that
the victims were not wearing life jackets when their boat capsized.
“We tried to
save their lives, but since they were donned in heavy traditional clothing and
lacked life jackets to support them afloat for at least 10 minutes, we couldn’t
do much to rescue them,” he says.
Michael
Kasadha, the Busoga North Police spokesperson, says the bodies were recovered on
Monday evening and taken to Bukungu health III awaiting postmortem.
He reveals
that a team from the Police Marine Unit is carrying out inquiries to ascertain
the cause of the accident. He has called upon members of the general
public to always wear life jackets and only board approved boats, arguing that such
protection measures reduce the risk of accidents while travelling on water.
