/ 11 November 2001

30 FEARED DEAD AS BOAT SINKS ON LAKE VICTORIA

AT least 30 people are feared to have drowned after a boat they were travelling in on Lake Victoria capsized on Wednesday evening near Sengerema, a few kilometres from Tanzania’s port city of Mwanza, police said on Thursday. “We are still investigating the cause of the accident, but preliminary reports indicate that the boat capsized after it was hit by strong winds,” said a policeman. He said eyewitnesses told police that the boat left Sengerema with about 30 passengers on board. “There are fears that all of them were drowned.” Three bodies had been recovered by Thursday morning, he said. – AFP