KINSHASA, DR Congo: At least 38 people have died and more than 100 others remain missing after a ferry carrying passengers returning home for Christmas capsized on the Busira River in the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to officials and witnesses.
Twenty people have been rescued so far, officials said.
The ferry was travelling as part of a convoy of other vessels and the passengers were primarily merchants returning home for Christmas, said Joseph Joseph Kangolingoli, the mayor of Ingende, the last town on the river before the site of the accident.
According to Ingende resident Ndolo Kaddy, the ferry carried “more than 400 people because it made two ports, Ingende and Loolo, on the way to Boende, so there is reason to believe there were more deaths”, the Associated Press (AP) news agency reported.
Congolese officials have often warned against overloading boats and vowed to punish those violating safety measures on rivers. However, in remote areas, many people cannot afford public transportation on the few available roads.
The sinking of the ferry late Friday came less than four days after another boat capsized in the country’s northeast, killing 25 people.
At least 78 people drowned in October when a boat that was reportedly carrying hundreds of passengers capsized on Lake Kivu, in the country’s east.
Another 80 lost their lives in a similar accident on the Kwa River, about 70km (43 miles) from the city of Mushie in Mai-Ndombe province, 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 the local government and a prominent figure in Mbandaka, the capital of the Equateur province where the ferry sank, condemned authorities for not properly handling the recent sinkings.
The capsizing of overloaded boats is 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. – Agencies
