Police: 20 children feared drowned after boat capsizes on Tanzanian side of Lake Victoria

20 Tanzania children feared dead in boat capsizing

ARUSHA, Tanzania — Police say 20 school children are feared drowned after a boat they were traveling in capsized on the Tanzanian side of Lake Victoria.

Police commander Saymon Siro says the boat capsized Thursday while carrying the children to a school located on an island in the lake. He says the boat was filled with about 40 children between the ages of 6 and 14.

Siro said Friday that six bodies already have been recovered and efforts were underway to search for at least 14 more bodies in the area off the coastal town of Mwanza. Twenty children have been rescued.

Lake Victoria is the world’s second-largest body of fresh water. It borders Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. Last month more than 10 people died in a boat accident on the Ugandan side of Lake Victoria.