Kinshasa: At least 38 people have been confirmed dead and over 100 are still missing after a ferry capsized in the Busira River in Congo on Friday night. According to the local authorities, the ferry, which was carrying people heading home for Christmas, was reportedly overloaded with passengers.
As per reports, the boat was part of a convoy of vessels travelling in the northeastern region of the country. Many of the passengers were merchants returning to their homes for the holiday season. The boat sank just days after another similar tragedy in the northeast of the country, where 25 people were killed in a capsizing.
Rescue Efforts Underway
The local officials stated that so far, 20 people have been rescued, but more than 100 remain missing. The search for survivors continues, with rescue teams working tirelessly despite the difficult conditions. The mayor of Ingende, Joseph Joseph Kangolingoli, explained that the ferry was the last in a convoy of boats travelling along the river when the accident occurred.
According to Ndolo Kaddy, a resident of Ingende, the ferry contained “more than 400 people because it made two ports, Ingende and Loolo, on the way to Boende, so there is reason to believe that there were more deaths”.
Congolese officials have often warned against overloading and vowed to punish those violating safety measures for water transportation. However, in remote areas where most passengers come from, many cannot afford public transport for the few available roads.
At least 78 people drowned in October when an overloaded boat sank in the country’s east while 80 lost their lives in a similar accident near Kinshasa in June.
The latest accident prompted anger at the government for not equipping the convoy with flotation devices.
Nesty Bonina, a member of local government and a prominent figure in the town of Mbandaka, the capital of the Equateur province where the ferry sank, said he condemned the authorities for not properly handling the recent capsizings.
“How can a ship navigate at night under the watchful eye of river service agents? And now we are recording over a hundred deaths,” lamented Mr Bonina.
The capsizing of overloaded boats is also becoming increasingly frequent in this central African nation as more people are giving up the few available roads in favour of wooden vessels crumbling under the weight of passengers and their goods for security reasons.
The roads are often caught up in the deadly clashes between Congolese security forces and rebels that sometimes block major access routes. Hundreds have already been killed or declared missing in such accidents so far this year.
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