Kinshasa: A tragic boat accident in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Equateur Province has claimed the lives of at least 32 people, with dozens still unaccounted for, local authorities reported on Thursday.
The incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon when two boats carrying more than 100 passengers capsized on Lake Tumba shortly after departing from Bikoro port, located on the lake’s eastern shore. According to civil society officials, the vessels set out despite being dangerously overloaded and amid unstable weather conditions.
Akula Dieu, a representative of the Provincial Coordination of the Panel of Civil Society Experts of Equateur, noted that witnesses saw passengers being turned away due to extreme overcrowding. “The situation on the boats was chaotic,” Dieu said.
Bikoro Lake Commissioner Gabriel Ifulu Bongolomba said the boats had been privately commissioned by a family to transport mourners to a funeral and had departed from an unauthorized location. He explained that heavy rainfall had generated strong waves that led to the vessels’ capsizing.
Bongolomba added that ongoing rescue operations were being hindered by a shortage of basic resources. “We often have to rely on privately owned boats, and even then, we lack sufficient fuel and essential gear like life jackets,” he said.
Boat accidents are a frequent tragedy in the DRC, where safety regulations are often ignored and vessels are routinely overloaded, posing persistent dangers to passengers.
