Police reported that 20 persons were killed when a boat sank on Lake Victoria in Ugandan waters on Wednesday morning as rescuers and locals looked for survivors.

The Ugandan police agency posted on Twitter, which is being rebranded as X, that “20 people have been confirmed dead to date, and nine (9) have been rescued.”

When the disaster happened at around 5:00 am (0200 GMT), the boat was transporting charcoal, fresh food, and fish, according to the authorities.

They said that there were thought to be about 34 persons onboard and said that overloading and bad weather were to blame for the catastrophe.

“We urge the public to never overload their vessels and to wear life jackets whenever they are on the water.”

The largest lake in Africa has seen a number of boat mishaps, which are frequently attributed to congestion and bad weather.

In November 2018, 32 individuals lost their lives when a pleasure boat capsized on Lake Victoria due to poor weather; according to Ugandan authorities, there were more than 90 partygoers on board.

On the Tanzanian side of Lake Victoria in September of that same year, the MV Nyerere passenger ferry capsized, killing hundreds of people.

Lake Victoria is an oval-shaped body of water that spans 70,000 square kilometers (27,000 square miles), about the size of Ireland. Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya all share it.

Due to a lack of life jackets and the fact that few people can swim, ferry accidents on the lake frequently result in a high number of fatalities.

In some areas of the Great Lakes region of Africa, boats are typically the primary mode of transportation, and they are frequently crammed and in poor condition.

Along Lake Albert, which divides Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, accidents happen frequently as well.

When their boat sank on Lake Albert in December 2020, at least 26 passengers perished. The weather was to blame for that accident.