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UNHCR is shocked and saddened by this weekend's boat tragedy on Lake Albert, between Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, in which scores of Congolese refugees, including children, drowned.
The boat was one of two that left from Hoima district on the eastern side of the lake on Saturday morning, carrying refugees who had been living at Kyangwali refugee settlement but were heading back home to eastern DRC of their own accord. One of the boats capsized, spilling its passengers into the waters. Based on information UNHCR has received so far from the authorities and refugees, 41 people were rescued and 98 bodies recovered. As many as 250 people may have been aboard the boat.
"This tragedy has shocked me profoundly," said UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres. "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. I have called on our Uganda office to fully support these efforts".
The survivors have been transported to north-west Uganda's Bundibugyo district, where UNHCR, Ugandan government officials and our partners are providing support, including psycho-social help. Identification of the deceased, by relatives who rushed over from the Democratic Republic of Congo, is continuing at Bundibugyo District Hospital. UNHCR and the government of Uganda are also facilitating transportation of bodies back to the DRC. Additionally, UNHCR has mobilized support staff and resources, and set up an information and response point at the Bundibugyo Transit Centre to support relatives of the survivors.
Uganda is a major refugee-hosting country, with an asylum-seeker and refugee population exceeding 328,900 as of end February. While many of the recent arrivals have been from South Sudan, Uganda is still host to almost 175,500 Congolese refugees - including some of the 66,000 who have fled to Bundibugyo since July to escape fighting in eastern DRC. The ones affected by this tragedy were from this group.
Over the past three months, UNHCR has seen a rise in the number of Congolese refugees returning spontaneously to DRC. They are mostly people who arrived in Uganda in the last two to three years and who live relatively close to the Ugandan border. The majority of those who are returning now are heading for the relatively safe and secure area of Rutshuru in DRC's North Kivu province while some returnees to the Kamango area are reportedly staying in IDP camps. Refugees are using both the boat route via Lake Albert and roads. A campaign warning about the dangers of crossing the lake was under way when this tragedy hit.
For more information on this topic, please contact:
In Geneva, Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba on mobile +41 79 249 34 83 In Uganda, Andrew Mbogori on mobile +256 772 70 11 05 In Uganda, Sakura Atsuki on mobile +256 772 700 985 In Nairobi (on mission), Celine Schmitt on mobile +243 81 700 94 84
