At least 50 people en route to a funeral on Saturday have drowned after a boat capsized in the Mpoko river – in the Central African Republic’s capital, Bangui.
The civil protection authorities said they were still searching for more bodies in the water.
Videos on social media suggest the boat was carrying over 300 people when it capsized.
Minutes after setting off, the boat encountered technical difficulties. Emergency responders arrived 40 minutes after the incident. Some of those injured persons were evacuated by motorbike taxis.
“We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” civil protection department head Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater.”
The Government has launched an investigation into the incident, its spokesperson Maxime Balalou called stated. Adding that water transport operators should be more compliant on river transport safety regulations.