At least 20 people have died and five missing after an overloaded boat capsized in the Ugandan waters of Lake Victoria.

The vessel was carrying charcoal, fresh foods and fish when the accident happened at 5am on Wednesday, and that cause of accident is attributed to overloading and bad weather, the police said on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, adding that nine passengers were rescued.

It appealed to members of the public who travel on waters to always wear life jackets and not to overload their vessels; however rescue efforts to locate the missing people were under way.

Africa’s largest lake is shared by Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania and in another case back in 2018, 32 people died after a pleasure boat sank on Lake Victoria during bad weather, where many residents wept for their loved ones.