Capsized K-Palm Boat Pulled Underneath Lake Victoria, Search For Bodies Resume
Uganda People’s Defense Force and Uganda Police Force Marine Units following different attempts to pull the boat wreckage out of Lake Victoria with the help of MV Kalangala, today successfully pulled the boat wreckage from underneath the water.
SSP Zurah Ganyana ,PRO Uganda police force said they used a multi sectoral approach to provide solutions.
“In today’s world of the unknown, it is not easy for any government department or agency to provide solutions alone”.
This explains why we have all government agencies, civil society groups and local community to respond to this incident
Strategies are now being laid to tow the boat wreckage to the mainland.
The teams are still doing their best to recover uncounted missing persons who include;
Kaooza Peter of Masaka,
Namutebi Sylvia of Nakisunga and Musisi Godfrey of Kabalagala, Ssenyonga Andrew of Kireka and also recover property trapped under the wreckage.
We want to thank the local community/Wanainchi (the first responders) management of Mutiima beach, Police and UPDF Marines and the civil society.
Special thanks also go to Mr Kirumira Brain aka Brian White of the Brain White Foundation, Hajj Yusuf Matovu aka YOUMA, Ministry of Works, district leadership, local council chairman, Uganda Railways, Mango tree ship, ministries and other government agencies.
We also in a special way want to thank the His Excellence, the president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni for his strategic guidance.
We wish to make a special appeal to all people who use water transport to respect and adhere to the safety precautions more so the use of life jackets.
MV Kalangala has this morning pulled out the canopy of the capsized boat that killed more than 30 people last week on Saturday.
Asuman Mugyenyi Operations Commander UPF says the next step is towing it either to the surface of Mutima beach or to deeper waters with help of MV Kalangala towards Portbell.
“We all used our budgets. We are going to use a tractor to pull out the remaining wreckage to the safer place on the shores. There was a plan to dismantle the boat wreckage using experts had all the plans failed. We are going back to the drawing board. You should know that underneath, there’s also mud,” he said.
UPDF Marines Brigade Commander, Michael Nyarwa said it was unsafe for the divers to enter and start searching for bodies if any, in the boat wreckage in the form it was.
“But now that we have pulled it up, the search is going to resume,” he said.
He further noted that the area where the boat wreckage is, is muddy and that there’s a possibility of bodies being trapped in the mud.
