Francis Muli
Ugandan police have established that the cruise boat that capsized in Lake Victoria was overloaded with revelers, even as death toll rises to 29.
It has been reported that some of the rescuers have died.
One of the revelers on board says that there were more than 90 people on board
In a video circulating online, the video shows revelers in merry-making and drinking in a seemingly overloaded boat. However unconfirmed, reports indicate that the boat had at least 100 revelers on board.
The boat had been grounded for months, before it was taken back to the waters when the owners got the deal.
Read: 29 Perish, Several Missing After Boat Capsizes In Lake Victoria
“We expect (the number of passengers) is beyond the capacity of the boat. It was overloaded and unfortunately people were drunk. We suspect the mechanical condition of the boat and the weather contributed to the sinking,” said Asuman Mugenyi, director of operations for the Uganda police.
“A big storm hit,” said local government official Richard Kikongo. “It can be fine on land but bad weather on the lake.”
Among those rescued include Prince David Wasajja, brother of Buganda King Ronald Mutebi, singer Iryn Namubiru and city businessman John Fredrick Kiyimba, commonly known as Freeman.
Here’s a video showing last moments of the revelers before the boat sunk:-
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