Two fishermen died on Friday morning in an accident involving a ship and boat in Lake Victoria.
Search teams were still looking for the bodies on Friday.
The two fishermen from Remba Island in Suba North constituency died while they were on a fishing expedition. One of their colleagues sustained injuries in the incident.
It was reported that the fishermen drowned when their boat was hit by a ship that was travelling from Kisumu to Uganda.
The boat split into two parts. One part in which the two fishermen were seated sank as they were unable to swim before they drowned.
Remba Beach Management Unit chairman Semekia Mamra said the fishermen left the island on Thursday evening to go fishing for omena.
“The boat was hit while the fishermen were busy pulling their nets back into it. They had caught some fish and were intending to return to the dry land,” Mamra said.
Speaking to journalists over the matter, the BMU officer said both the ship captain and boat coxswain did not notice each other from a distance due to darkness.
He said they also received report that the ship did not put its head lights on to alert the fishermen before the accident occurred.
“The ship did not stop after the incident. Instead, it sailed to its destination, Uganda,” Mamra added.
The fisherman who survived the tragedy clung to the other part of the boat, preventing him from sinking. He was saved by his colleagues who were nearby some minutes later.
Homa Bay County Commissioner Moses Lilan said they had launched investigations into the incident.
“The accident occurred in the morning when it was still dark. The necessary action will be taken upon completion of the investigations,” Lilan said.
