An overloaded wooden motorised boat capsized on Monday in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), leaving at least four people dead and around 40 missing, local officials reported.
The tragedy occurred on the Kwango River, a tributary of the Congo River, in the southwestern province of Kwango, according to deputy governor Remy Saki.
“Four bodies have been recovered. At this stage 79 people managed to survive and about 40 are missing,” Saki stated. He noted that rescue efforts were ongoing but faced challenging conditions.
“We will have to wait one or two days to locate the vessel… and see if there are bodies trapped there,” he added.
Jean-Baptiste Nkololo, the village chief of Port Kwango, explained that the boat hit a bridge and sank, with passengers reporting that around 150 people were onboard at the time of the incident.
Boat travel is common in the DRC due to its underdeveloped road infrastructure, but capsizing accidents occur frequently. In late July, a similar tragedy on the Congo River in the central province of Maniema claimed at least 25 lives. In 2019, around 100 people lost their lives in another boat sinking.