Aarhus teachers still missing in Uganda – UPDATED

Local authorities believe Danish volunteers drowned in a lake last week

UPDATED DECEMBER 22 – The bodies of Aarhus teachers, Sebastian Burtin, 20, and Thomas Svith, 21, have been recovered and flown back to Denmark. Divers recovered SvithÂ’s body on December 6, whilst BurtinÂ’s body was found around on December 9. Burtin has since been buried in CopenhagenÂ’s Vestre Cemetery and Svith at Ã…byhøj church in Aarhus.

ORIGINAL, PUBLISHED DECEMBER 6 – The search continues for two Danish volunteer teachers who are believed to have drowned in a Ugandan lake last week. Thomas Svith, 21, and Sebastian Burtin, 20, from the Aarhus suburb of Ã…byhøj, were volunteers at a primary school in the Kenyan city of Kinsii and on holiday in Uganda.

The local police and armed forces began searching Lake Bunyonyi in southwestern Uganda last week on Thursday (December 1) after reports from locals that the two had drowned the day before.

While the Ugandan police have not speculated on the cause of their disappearances, the owner of the backpacking lodge at which the men were staying told Ugandan newspaper New Vision that the pair drowned after going swimming in their hiking boots.

The Danish ambassador to Uganda, Nathalia Feinberg, arrived at the site over the weekend to help co-ordinate the search. Divers from the armed forces had been searching the bottom of the lake, and hooks had also been employed, but the method was reportedly stopped after the Danish Embassy protested.

Bunyonyi is one of AfricaÂ’s deepest lakes – dotted with islands, itÂ’s a popular swimming spot with tourists.

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