KAMPALA, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Four bodies were on Friday recovered from Lake Kyoga in the eastern Uganda district of Serere after their canoes capsized, killing six people in total, police said.
Gerald Kaheesi, the officer in charge of Serere Police Station, told Xinhua by telephone that the accident involving three canoes happened on Wednesday night.
"That particular part of the lake where the drowning happened has strong winds. Given that these people use canoes, it is possible that they drowned after being blown off balance by strong winds," Kaheesi said.
He said the fishermen had defied police directives of stop using substandard fishing gear such as canoes and nets.
"They go on the lake at night yet we had stopped them from using those small boats. An operation is still going on to arrest all those involved in the illegal fishing activities," Kaheesi said.
Out of the nine people who had gone out fishing, only three survived.
Hellen Adoa, the state minister for fisheries who visited the lake on Friday, said accidents on Lake Kyoga had claimed 14 people in the past three months.
She said the country's Parliament was already debating a piece of legislation to ensure that illegal fishing is completely banned. Enditem