By JAMES KUNDA –
SIX bodies out of the nine people that drowned on Lake Mweru in Luapula Province have so far been retrieved.
The nine drowned as they were crossing to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)’s Nkole Island last Sunday.
Only three people survived the accident, among them, two women and one man who managed to swim to the shore.
Among the dead were four Zambians and five DRC nationals.
Luapula Province Commissioner of Police, Hudson Namachila said that a combined team of marines from the Police and Zambia Army retrieved the bodies at the weekend.
Mr Namachila said the search had continued despite encountering challenges due to the currency on Lake Mweru.
He said search efforts were also hampered by limited rescue kits that were being used by the divers.
“We have so far retrieved six bodies. However, the search is still on for the remaining bodies,” Mr Namachila said.
“The search is on course despite challenges of inadequate equipment and heavy water current as even the latest victim was retrieved several kilometres away from the accident scene.”
