KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — At least 30 passengers including several students were killed when a boat sank in Congo’s northwestern Equateur province amid extreme weather, residents and local media said Thursday.
A search was underway for many people still missing.
The boat was conveying villagers and goods along Lake Tumba in Bikoro territory when it sank late Wednesday, territorial administrator Justin Mputu told local media. Thirty bodies had been recovered, and more people are missing he said.
José Ipalaka, a retired senior government official who lives in Bikoro, told The Associated Press that three of his relatives were among the 30 so far confirmed dead and that other relatives have joined in searching for those still missing.
Congo’s rivers are a major means of transport for its more than 100 million people, especially in remote areas where infrastructure is poor or nonexistent. Deadly boat accidents have become common, often due to poor maintenance, overloading and extreme weather.
The latest accident involved a wooden boat taking passengers to a market in the village of Ikoko Bongonda, local media reported. The capsizing was believed to have been caused by turbulent waters due to heavy recent rains, said Mputu, the Bikoro territory administrator, was quoted as saying.
Videos shared by local resident that appeared to be from the scene showed people wailing as they gathered around bodies on the ground. One video showed a resident loading bodies of children into a canoe.
Congolese authorities have often promised to implement safety measures for water travels but the situation has not improved in the last year, experts say.
At least 50 people died in April when their boat capsized after catching fire in the northwest while more than 80 died in June of last year after their boat capsized near the capital of Kinshasa. Dozens of people missing in such accidents are never found.
Jean-yves Kamale, The Associated Press
