At least 193 passengers killed in two boat accidents in northwestern Congo
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- At least 193 passengers died in two boat accidents this week in northwestern Congo’s Equateur province, with scores more missing.
- One boat carrying nearly 500 people caught fire and capsized Thursday; another motorized vessel capsized Wednesday, killing mostly students.
- Boat accidents are increasingly common as Congolese abandon deteriorating roads for overloaded wooden vessels that often lack life jackets.
KINSHASA, Congo — Two boat accidents this week in northwestern Congo killed at least 193 people and left scores missing, authorities and state media reported Friday.
The accidents happened about 90 miles apart in the Equateur province.
One boat with nearly 500 passengers caught fire and capsized Thursday evening along the Congo River in the province’s Lukolela territory, Congo’s humanitarian affairs ministry said in a report. At least 107 people were killed.
The report said 209 survivors were rescued following the accident, involving a whale boat near the village of Malange.
A day earlier, a motorized boat capsized in the Basankusu territory of the province, killing at least 86 people, most of them students, state media reported. Several people were missing, but the reports did not say how many.
It was not immediately clear what caused either accident or whether rescue operations were continuing Friday evening.
State media attributed Wednesday’s accident to “improper loading and night navigation,” citing reports from the scene. Images that appeared to be from the scene showed villagers gathered around bodies as they mourned.
A local civil society group blamed Wednesday’s accident on the government and claimed the toll was higher. Authorities could not be reached for comment.
The capsizing of boats is becoming increasingly frequent in this central African nation as more people are abandoning the few available roads for cheaper, wooden vessels crumbling under the weight of passengers and their goods.
In such trips, life jackets are rare and the vessels are usually overloaded.
Many of the boats travel at night, complicating rescue efforts during accidents and often leaving many bodies unaccounted for.
Kamale and Mwanamilongo write for the Associated Press.
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