Lake Victoria Ferry Sinks

Lake Victoria Ferry Sinks

More than 50 persons are reported missing - possibly drowned - when a ferry carrying 60 passengers capsized Wednesday on the Ugandan side of Lake Victoria. The ferry was carrying timber, sacks of fish and 60 passengers, mostly traders. Ten passengers were confirmed dead while four survivors were pulled out of the water unconscious and were being treated at a hospital. Strong winds might have caused the ferry to capsize just when it was to dock near the town of Entebbe, south of the capital, Kampala. The accident is the third most serious ferry tragedy in East Africa. In May 1996, the Bukoba ferry sank on its way to Mwanza in Tanzania, with 800 dead. And in April of 1994, the MV Mtongwe sank while crossing from Mtongwe to Mombasa Island, drowning 272 individuals.