A boat capsized in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing at least 27 people and leaving more than 70 others missing, a senior government official reported Saturday as rescuers feverishly searched for survivors.
Taylor Nganzi, the vice-governor of Equateur Province, reported that a boat manufactured locally capsized in the city of Mbandaka on the Congo River while transporting more than 100 passengers to the town of Bolomba.
“Already, 27 bodies have been removed from the water and transported to the morgue of the general hospital in Mbandaka,” said Nganzi, adding that an investigation into the cause of the disaster had begun.
According to the New Civil Society of Congo, a local civil society organization, 49 individuals perished in the accident, which was caused by a faulty engine. “Everything began to sink,” group president Jean-Pierre Wangela told reporters.
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Contradictory death tolls, typical of such incidents in Congo, could not be reconciled promptly.
Volunteers accompanied rescuers in the search for survivors and bodies, while bereaved families lamented the loss of loved ones.
“We are supervising the search for bodies with the river services and accompanied by the victims’ families,” according to Nganzi.
On the Congo River and in the country’s lakes, accidents are frequent due to the prevalence of overloaded, improvised vessels. The majority of the population in the northwest of the country travels by river due to the lack of decent roads and the lower cost.
To prevent accidents, the Congolese government had prohibited night travel throughout the country, despite the fact that many disregard the directive.
