5th January 2013
Issa Machibya
About 25 passengers on board a boat off Lake
Tanganyika in Kigoma have not been accounted for after their boat
capsized in Lake Tanganyika. The accident occurred yesterday at Herembe village in Uvinza district.
Reports by villagers at the scene indicate that more than 60 passengers were rescued while 25 are nowhere to be seen. Following them incident, members of the regional security committee
led by the Regional Commissioner, Retired Lieutenant Colonel Issa
Machibya went to investigate the matter at the scene of the accident. However, due to lack of communication and proximity, the area is
faced with infrastructure challenges. Owing to these hurdles it was
impossible to get travel information on that boat to get to know if it
was in routine internal voyage or plying an inter-state route.
Some villagers maintained that the boat was in its voyage to neighbouring villages along Kalya confluence towards Kigoma port, while others asserted that it was on its way to Burundi entreport. Witnesses say the boat loaded sardines and more than 100 passengers and it capsized following a strong wind, twisting it sideways and hitting a snag. Efforts to reach the Regional Police Commander through his mobile phone proved futile.
Some villagers maintained that the boat was in its voyage to neighbouring villages along Kalya confluence towards Kigoma port, while others asserted that it was on its way to Burundi entreport. Witnesses say the boat loaded sardines and more than 100 passengers and it capsized following a strong wind, twisting it sideways and hitting a snag. Efforts to reach the Regional Police Commander through his mobile phone proved futile.
SOURCE:
THE GUARDIAN
