A senior government official reported Saturday that a boat capsized in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing at least 27 people and leaving over 70 others missing. Rescuers were desperately looking for survivors.
According to Taylor Nganzi, deputy provincial governor, the locally built boat overturned late Friday in the city of Mbandaka in Equateur Province while carrying more than 100 passengers along the Congo River to the town of Bolomba.
‘Already 27 bodies of victims have been removed from the waters (and) transported to the mortuary of the general hospital in Mbandaka,’ said Nganzi, who also noted that an inquiry to determine the cause of the disaster has started.
A local civil society group called the New Civil Society of Congo reported that 49 individuals died in the crash, which it claimed was caused by an engine failure. The group’s president, Jean-Pierre Wangela, told reporters that ‘everything started to sink.’
The conflicting mortality tolls, which are typical of similar situations in the Congo, were difficult to reconcile right away. Families mourned loved ones who were among the victims as volunteers assisted rescuers in their hunt for survivors and bodies.
Nganzi stated, ‘We are directing the body search with the river services and being joined by the families of the victims.’
As a result of the widespread usage of improvised boats that are frequently overloaded, boat accidents are frequent on the Congo River and on the country’s lakes. Due to a lack of decent roads and the fact that it is less expensive, the majority of people in the northwest of the country travel by river.
Although many people disobey the order, the Congolese government had forbade night travel throughout the nation to prevent mishaps.
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