400 Fleeing Zaire Reportedly Drown
A boat carrying refugees fleeing Zaire to Tanzania capsized in Lake Tanganyika and 400 people drowned, a newspaper reported Saturday.
The newspaper Kalulu quoted refugees arriving in the lake port town of Kigoma as saying that the boat from Uvira, 90 miles away, was overloaded and capsized in high winds Friday.
The newspaper said that another boat carrying an undetermined number of Zairian refugees lost its way and that its fate was unknown.
An estimated 12,000 Zairian refugees, including some soldiers, have arrived in Kigoma since fighting between Zairian rebels and the army erupted three weeks ago. Three towns in eastern Zaire, including Uvira, have fallen to Zairian rebels.
Tanganyika, the second-deepest lake in the world, is 420 miles long and 45 miles wide.
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