Nine people have drowned while the search for one missing person has continued after the boat they were traveling on capsized in Chisaka stream in Kawambwa district, Luapula Province.
Six others survived the incident after managing to swim to the riverbanks.
The accident involved workers from the Kawambwa Sugar Plantation Company who were heading to work around 04:00 hours this morning.
Mpambashe Member of Parliament, Justine Kapema, confirmed the tragic event to ZANIS, revealing that nine bodies have been recovered and a search is still underway for one missing person.
Mr Kapema explained that the boat was transporting the Kawambwa Sugar Plantation workers to their workplace when the incident occurred.
And Chief Kabanda of the Chishinga people of Kawambwa expressed his deep sadness over the tragic accident.
The Chief has since appealed to government to expedite the construction of a bridge across the Kabanda River to prevent such accidents in the future.
“I am appealing to the government to speed up the construction of the bridge to help prevent such incidents from occurring again in the near future,” Chief Kabanda said.
The coxswain of the boat, who survived the accident, explained that the strong current in the river was a major factor, recounting that the paddle he was using broke after getting stuck, which caused the boat to lose control and eventually capsize.
“As I was paddling, the paddle got stuck and broke. That’s when the boat lost control due to the strong current and then capsized,” he said.
Life jackets need to be made mandatory for all boat riders. Meanwhile, may the souls of the departed rest in peace.
Indeed, life jackets are essential. The problem is we forget we have this mode of transport in rural areas. We are busy boosting about CDF going there but why can’t part of that money be channeled to such things? I think procuring life jackets for all water transporters in designated areas within a constituency wouldn’t be a farfetched dream.