NEWS- Authorities in Democratic Republic of Congo have confirmed that a overcrowded boat has capsized on a River in Central of the Country killing at least 25 people who including children and leaving dozens missing.
It is reported that the vessel was believed to have more than 100 passengers on board after leaving from the town of Inongo in Noortheast of the capital of Kinshasa and capsized a few hundred meters into the journey along the Fimi River.
Authorities said that this is the latest such tragedy to strike Democratic Republic of Congo and a search for the missing was underway as concerns rose that the death toll could be far higher than reported now.
“There was overloading at roof level and, as far as the lifeless human bodies are concerned, at least 25 have been recovered so far,” David Kalemba, the Inongo’s River commissioner said.
According to Alex Mbumba, a resident of the area, the capsized boat was also loaded with goods, but it’s difficult to give an exact death toll at the moment as the boat had a lot of passengers.
The wreckage was the fourth this year in the Maï-Ndombe province, a region surrounded by rivers which many rely on for transportation.
Congolese officials have often warned against overloading and vowed to punish those violating safety measures for water transportation, however, in remote areas where most passengers come from, many are unable to afford public transport for the few available roads.
At least 78 people drowned in October when an overloaded boat sank in the country’s East and 80 lost their lives in June in a similar accident near Kinshasa.
The latest accident prompted calls for the government to equip the province with flotation devices and Mbumba asked the government to act to improve safety on the waters of our province because navigation conditions are dangerous.
By the time of writing this story the Government in Kinshasa had not given an official statement about the tragedy.
Additional Reporting by Associated Press.
