At Least 30 Dead After Boats Collide on Congo River
Dozens remain missing following a weekend collision on the Congo River that killed at least 30 people, authorities said Monday.
Two boats collided over the weekend on the Congo River, killing at least 30 people and leaving dozens missing, local authorities in Congo said Monday. The motorized wooden boats crashed into one another on Sunday evening near the Ngombe-Lukolela area in the province of Equateur, according to the provincial interior minister, Crispin Mputu.
The reason for the crash was not immediately clear. Mputu stated that nighttime boat navigation has led to many accidents in the past. The minister told The Associated Press that the 30 killed in the crash have already been buried.
One boat was traveling from Ubangi, in the northwest, to the capital of Kinshasa, and the other from Kinshasa to Lukolela, close to where the collision happened. Search efforts continue to find more victims and survivors.
A member of the security forces who said he witnessed the crash from the riverbank told the AP that the boat returning from Ubangi was overloaded with goods and collided with the one coming from Kinshasa. "Almost all the passengers on board were trapped underwater, and the boat itself also sank," he added, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak publicly.
Deadly boating tragedies are common in the central African country, where late-night travel and overcrowded vessels are often blamed. Poor safety standards and lack of infrastructure in remote parts of the country also contribute to the hundreds killed in boat disasters in recent years. In July, a wooden boat transporting students back from state exams sank in Kasai province, killing at least 20 people.