11-26-2018, 07:51 PM
Divers have recovered more than 31 bodies from Lake Victoria after a party boat capsized in one of Uganda's deadliest maritime disasters.
The toll is expected to rise.
The boat, MV Templa was said to be carrying more than 100 people, twice its capacity, when it overturned late Saturday evening.
"Such boats cannot carry more than 50 people,'' said lawmaker Johnson Muyanja, who represents part of the district of Mukono, the site of the accident.
"Here we don't have limits.
Our problem is that we don't have control.''
The boat, MV Templa was in poor condition, had been grounded for some time and lacked a valid license to operate, authorities said.
Marine police tried to prevent the boat from embarking on the cruise, but they were overwhelmed by the presence of two local princes among the passengers, they said.
The boat had been grounded for safety reasons and had recently undergone repairs to fix holes in its hull, authorities said.
One reason many people died was likely "intoxication,'' said Asuman Mugenyi, national director of police operations.
Citing the accounts of some survivors, he said there were life jackets that passengers neglected to wear.
The boat's passengers, in a party mood, likely panicked when the vessel started to sink, he said.
Images of people on the boat were posted on social media shortly before the incident.
https://www.google.com.ng/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-6426301/amp/29-drown-capsized-boat-Uganda-toll-expected-rise.html
![[Image: 8211562_65983886425075peoplewereseenonbo...43a895145b]](https://www.nairaland.com/attachments/8211562_65983886425075peoplewereseenonbom271543094536692_jpegecb50ba03f91c34250c56943a895145b)
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Among the many tragic stories was one of a man who went out to help rescue people and drowned when he was dragged underwater by a desperate passenger.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said on Twitter that he had ordered the electronic registration and monitoring of all boats "so that we can know who is where on the lake and why."
"Obviously, the operators of this boat will be charged with criminal negligence and manslaughter, if they have not already been punished for their mistake by dying in the accident," he said. "Let everybody take the warning from this tragedy."
![[Image: 8211472_0thpchp241118slug2669jpg_jpega35...3809e08669]](https://www.nairaland.com/attachments/8211472_0thpchp241118slug2669jpg_jpega35ee0bb7b1702308645b83809e08669)
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Relatives mourn as police search for the victims of a boat which capsized in Lake Victoria near the capital Kampala, Uganda Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018.
Ugandan diving teams are retrieving bodies from Lake Victoria where police say dozens died in a boat accident Saturday evening.
Ugandan police carry away a body of one of the victims of a boat which capsized in Lake Victoria near the capital, Kampala, Uganda, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018.
Dead bodies of passengers are recovered after a cruise boat capsized in Lake Victoria off Mukono district in Uganda on Sunday.
![[Image: 8211506_wire66202561543164938691634x420_...d3803c1d51]](https://www.nairaland.com/attachments/8211506_wire66202561543164938691634x420_jpeg41aa19ba58cfdf68aab29cd3803c1d51)
![[Image: 8211538_wire66202461543164910761634x420_...044be0997e]](https://www.nairaland.com/attachments/8211538_wire66202461543164910761634x420_jpeg4b5c618db547fe880e51f5044be0997e)
![[Image: 8211598_images_jpeg_jpegeb6c065c105cfe1a...aeadfb7a99]](https://www.nairaland.com/attachments/8211598_images_jpeg_jpegeb6c065c105cfe1af50da1aeadfb7a99)
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Divers in water.
The boat, MV Templa, lying underwater.
![[Image: 8211632_images1_jpeg_jpeg209edec6a4f898e...2d90b407e7]](https://www.nairaland.com/attachments/8211632_images1_jpeg_jpeg209edec6a4f898efcdc7a52d90b407e7)
![[Image: 8212217_image44755_jpeg9d2491c0a86825d25395688514d16e3c]](https://www.nairaland.com/attachments/8212217_image44755_jpeg9d2491c0a86825d25395688514d16e3c)
![[Image: 8212607_image44760_jpeg870ac2b444c71cf06771bb232fe9729c]](https://www.nairaland.com/attachments/8212607_image44760_jpeg870ac2b444c71cf06771bb232fe9729c)
![[Image: 8212608_image44759_jpeg8d5e2b9683affae703f49ed979f87298]](https://www.nairaland.com/attachments/8212608_image44759_jpeg8d5e2b9683affae703f49ed979f87298)
The toll is expected to rise.
The boat, MV Templa was said to be carrying more than 100 people, twice its capacity, when it overturned late Saturday evening.
"Such boats cannot carry more than 50 people,'' said lawmaker Johnson Muyanja, who represents part of the district of Mukono, the site of the accident.
"Here we don't have limits.
Our problem is that we don't have control.''
The boat, MV Templa was in poor condition, had been grounded for some time and lacked a valid license to operate, authorities said.
Marine police tried to prevent the boat from embarking on the cruise, but they were overwhelmed by the presence of two local princes among the passengers, they said.
The boat had been grounded for safety reasons and had recently undergone repairs to fix holes in its hull, authorities said.
One reason many people died was likely "intoxication,'' said Asuman Mugenyi, national director of police operations.
Citing the accounts of some survivors, he said there were life jackets that passengers neglected to wear.
The boat's passengers, in a party mood, likely panicked when the vessel started to sink, he said.
Images of people on the boat were posted on social media shortly before the incident.
https://www.google.com.ng/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-6426301/amp/29-drown-capsized-boat-Uganda-toll-expected-rise.html
Among the many tragic stories was one of a man who went out to help rescue people and drowned when he was dragged underwater by a desperate passenger.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said on Twitter that he had ordered the electronic registration and monitoring of all boats "so that we can know who is where on the lake and why."
"Obviously, the operators of this boat will be charged with criminal negligence and manslaughter, if they have not already been punished for their mistake by dying in the accident," he said. "Let everybody take the warning from this tragedy."
Relatives mourn as police search for the victims of a boat which capsized in Lake Victoria near the capital Kampala, Uganda Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018.
Ugandan diving teams are retrieving bodies from Lake Victoria where police say dozens died in a boat accident Saturday evening.
Ugandan police carry away a body of one of the victims of a boat which capsized in Lake Victoria near the capital, Kampala, Uganda, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018.
Dead bodies of passengers are recovered after a cruise boat capsized in Lake Victoria off Mukono district in Uganda on Sunday.
Divers in water.
The boat, MV Templa, lying underwater.