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At least 10 people were killed in a Tuesday night boating accident on Lake Victoria near Honge Beach in western Kenya.
According to local media reports, at least 20 people were on board the boat. It capsized while transporting maize and bananas to Usenge Beach. Ten people were rescued by fishermen nearby.
Elly Masinde, the chairman of a beach management unit of the area, told Citizen TV the boat capsized after it was hit by strong winds. High tides and Lake Victoria’s rising water level may have also played a part.
A local administrative official, Fredrick Ochieng Abuonji, said a search for the bodies was underway even as he appealed to the government to complement their efforts in their mission.
Boat accidents are increasingly common on East Africa’s major lakes, including Lake Victoria, which is surrounded by Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda.
Last month, local media in Kenya reported that at least six people were feared dead after a boat they were traveling in capsized in Lake Victoria due to heavy winds and overloading.
