By Godfrey Olukya

ARU, Democratic Republic of Congo

At least 50 bodies have been recovered at the western shore of Lake Albert in Democratic Republic of Congo, said police sources on Wednesday.

Police officer Robert Ngeyi said the bodies were discovered by fishermen of Kasenyi landing site near Kasenyi town in Ituri province.

Lake Albert is located between Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo, each sharing the lake equally.

"50 bodies have been pulled from the lake by fishermen from Kasenyi. Bodies had started decomposing which means they could have been in the water for several days.'' said Ngeyi.

He said so far they cannot tell where the bodies came from.

''We cannot tell where they came from. We have started investigating and if all goes well we will know their origin.''

Anicet Lossa, the coordinator of civil society organizations in Kasenyi territory, said they were shocked at seeing so many bodies. He, however, requested authorities to make sure the bodies do not contaminate the lake, where locals fetch water for using at their homes.

One of the fishermen who discovered the bodies, Dan Legu said, ''We had gone fishing last night when we came across the bodies. In the morning we started removing them from the lake and placing them at the shore.''

Ituri province governor Abdallah Pene Mbaka said it is unfortunate that so many people died, and cause of their death was still unknown, adding that they would do their best to identify the bodies before burying them.