New Year’s Eve boat mishap leaves five dead in central Uganda

Five people are confirmed dead after a passenger boat sank in Lake Victoria in central Uganda on the evening (local time) of Sunday, December 31.

Local officials said the vessel was transporting a still undetermined number of people and was nearing Zinga Island in Uganda’s Buvuma District when it broke apart and sank at around 19:00 on Sunday.

Rescuers have since pulled the bodies of five deceased individuals from the surrounding waters. Three of the deceased were young children aged seven to ten.

Only 14 survivors have so far been recorded as authorities work to confirm the exact number of people who were on board the ill-fated boat.

Police investigators are also looking into allegations by some survivors that the boat was in poor condition and overloaded.