Others go swimming because of band wagon. They want to show they know and end up being washed away by waves. Courtesy Photo
KAMPALA.
Statistics
at the police Directorate of Fire and Emergency Response have shown
more than 300 people drowned in the last three years.
According to
the police, the most tragic incident was in 2013 which involved 150
nationals of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Lake Albert. The
police rescued over 60 whereas nearly 90 passengers lost life.
“The
victims had been refugees and they were going back to their homeland
via Ntoroko district. The wooden boat they were sailing on was over
powered by the waves since it was too rigid to maneuver,” Mr Joseph
Mugisa, the directorate’s commander said on Tuesday.
Mr Mugisa said
100 people drowned in Lakes such as Lake Albert, Victoria, Rivers; Nile
and Mayanja as a result of overloading, hitting rocks and lack of life
saving jackets.
“Most drowning incidents on lakes and rivers are a
result of overloading, wooden and old canoes which are not up the
standards. Such boats are shuttered by strong water waves,” Mugisa said
on Tuesday while speaking to this newspaper at his office.
Other
100 people have drowned in ponds and valley dams in the cattle corridors
especially Rwizi and Savannah regions that include districts of Ibanda,
Kiruhura, Sembabule,Luwero, Nakaseke and Nakasongola.
The police
say the causes of the drowning in Rwizi and Savannah regions ranged from
swimming to cool bodies due to hot temperatures, rescuing drowned
cattle and curiosity.
“People in the cattle corridors drown
because they usually experience hot temperatures during the dry season.
This forces them to try swimming purposely to cool bodies,” he said.
He
continued, “The cattle also drown in a bid to access streams since the
shallow water sources usually dry up. The shepherds are usually
attempted to rescue their cattle and end up dying in the waters.”
In
Kampala Metropolitan (KMP) area that covers the areas of Kampala,
Wakiso, Entebbe and Mukono, the causes of drowning according to Mugisa
include alcohol, peer influence, curiosity and floods that usually hit
most of the suburbs during heavy down pours.
“Most of the drowning
incidents in KMP are due to alcohol. The victim drowned when they tried
swimming under the influence of alcohol. Others go swimming because of
band wagon. They want to show they know and end up being washed away by
waves,” he stresses.
At least 50 people have so far downed since the
start of this year in beaches, rivers and lakes. On Monday, five people
from the same family drowned in Lake Bunyonyi after their locally made
boat they were sailing capsized in the middle of the lake.
On July
25, four students from St Joseph Butenga Secondary School in
Bukomansimbi district and Prince Kalema SS in Masaka drowned in Lake
Nabugabo during a beach party.
CREDIT: NMG
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