Published on : Tuesday, March 25, 2014
The death toll in a boat accident in Lake Alberta between Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo climbed to more than 100. With 107 bodies already recovered, most being Children. 45 people have been rescued as divers continue to comb the area. The boat drivers had only counted the adults who boarded the boat and the children were left out.
The passengers were Congolese refugees who were returning home in two boats that left from the Kyangwali settlement camp in western Uganda. It is assumed that at least 250 people may have been onboard when it capsized. Overloaded boats are a common cause of death on Lake Albert and across the lakes of the Albertine Rift region.
Aid workers have been struggling to provide services to more than 175,500 Congolese refugees.The passengers of the capsized boat included some of the 66,000 who have fled to Uganda since July to escape fighting in eastern Congo, UNHCR said.
Tags: boat accident, Lake Alberta Uganda
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