Rescue teams in western Uganda are searching for more than 20 people feared dead after a canoe carrying an estimated 35 to 40 passengers capsized on the Nguse River in Kagadi District on Tuesday night, police said. The accident happened near Kyaleni village in Pacwa Town Council, close to Lake Albert, during what authorities described as a nighttime crossing.
Police said eight survivors had been rescued and were receiving medical treatment, while marine officers urged relatives of missing passengers to come forward as search and identification efforts continued. The absence of a passenger manifest has complicated attempts to determine the exact number of those on board and the final toll.
Marine police in Kagadi have opened an investigation into the cause of the tragedy. Preliminary findings point to possible overloading, night travel and the condition of the vessel as likely contributing factors. Local media reports said the locally made canoe was also carrying bags of charcoal, adding to concerns that it may have been dangerously overloaded.
The accident is the latest in a series of deadly water transport disasters in Uganda and the wider East African region, where overloaded boats, poor vessel maintenance and weak safety enforcement remain persistent risks. One of the region’s worst recent tragedies came in 2018, when a passenger ferry sank on the Tanzanian side of Lake Victoria, killing hundreds of people.
