O número de mortes em um acidente de barco no lago Albert, no oeste de Uganda, já chega a 107, disse a polícia ugandense nesta segunda-feira, um aumento drástico em relação à estimativa inicial de 19 fornecida pelo governo do país horas depois de a embarcação virar no sábado.
O chefe de polícia da região ugandense de Albertina, Charles Ssebambulidde, disse que as equipes de resgate retiraram dezenas de corpos, em sua maioria de mulheres, ao longo do fim de semana. O lago Albert fica na fronteira entre Uganda e Congo. A maioria das vítimas de afogamento era de refugiados congoleses que voltavam para casa de um campo de reassentamento, de acordo com a agência de refugiados das Nações Unidas (ONU) e as autoridades ugandenses.
Ssebambulidde disse que autoridades confirmaram que o barco carregava mais de 150 passageiros e seus pertences quando virou. A embarcação, que agora está sob custódia da polícia, deveria estar transportando apenas 80 pessoas sem bagagem, afirmou o chefe de polícia.
“Essa tragédia me chocou profundamente”, disse o comissário das Nações Unidas (ONU) para Refugiados, António Guterres, em comunicado enviado de Genebra. “Meus pensamentos estão com aqueles que perderam entes queridos e com os sobreviventes. Estou grato ao governo e a outras pessoas que montaram uma operação de busca e resgate e estão auxiliando os sobreviventes.”
O comunicado da ONU destacou que até 250 pessoas poderiam estar a bordo do barco, uma das duas embarcações que transportavam refugiados congoleses que voltariam para casa, sugerindo que o número de mortes pode aumentar ainda mais. Somente 41 pessoas foram resgatadas até o momento. Fonte: Associated Press.
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Uganda: Death toll from boat accident rises to 107
Eds: Updates with quotes, details, statement from UN, byline.
By RODNEY MUHUMUZA
Associated Press
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) _ The death toll from a boat accident on Lake Albert in
western Uganda has reached 107, Ugandan police said on Monday, a drastic rise
from the figure of 19 dead given hours after the boat capsized on Saturday.
Charles Ssebambulidde, the police commander for Uganda’s Albertine region,
said that rescue teams pulled scores of bodies _ mostly women _ from the lake
over the weekend.
Lake Albert lies on the Uganda-Congo border, and most of the drowning victims
were Congolese refugees returning home from a resettlement camp, according to
the United Nations refugee agency and Ugandan officials.
Ssebambulidde said the authorities confirmed the boat carried more than 150
passengers as well as their belongings when it capsized. That boat, which is
now in police custody, should only have carried 80 people without luggage, he
said.
“This tragedy has shocked me profoundly,” U.N. Commissioner for Refugees
António Guterres said in a statement sent from Geneva. “My thoughts are with
those who have lost dear ones, and the survivors. I am grateful to the
government and other actors who have mounted a rescue-and-recovery operation
and are assisting the survivors.”
The U.N. statement said as many as 250 people may have been aboard the boat,
one of two transporting Congolese refugees returning home, suggesting the
death toll could rise even further as more bodies are recovered. Only 41
people have been rescued.
Boat accidents are common in Uganda, as transport providers take advantage of
lax policing to load their boats with more passengers than they can safely
transport.
Ssebambulidde, the Ugandan police official, said it appeared the victims of
the latest accident were so desperate to return home that they did not bother
about safety. He said the bot was clearly “overloaded.”
Uganda hosts more than 320,000 refugees and asylum seekers from violence-prone
neighboring countries. More than 175,000 of them are Congolese, according to
the U.N. refugee agency.
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