FOUR DEAD, 40 MISSING IN DRC BOAT INCIDENT

September 16, 2024

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An overloaded wooden motorised boat capsized in the Democratic Republic of Congo Monday, killing at least four people and leaving some 40 others missing, local authorities said.

The accident took place on the Kwango, a tributary of the Congo river in the southwestern province of the same name, the deputy governor Remy Saki said.

“Four bodies have been recovered. At this stage 79 people managed to survive and about 40 are missing,” he said.

Saki said rescue operations were continuing in difficult conditions.

“We will have to wait one or two days to locate the vessel… and see if there are bodies trapped there.”

The chief of the village of Port Kwango, Jean-Baptiste Nkololo, said the vessel struck a bridge and sank, adding that passengers said there were about 150 people on board.

The sprawling central African nation has a poor road network and people often use boats to travel and to transport goods. Capsizes are common.

At least 25 people died at the end of July when a vessel capsized in the Congo river in the central province of Maniema.

In 2019, about 100 people died in another sinking.