148 dead in ship accident in Congo

At least 148 people died in the Democratic Republic of Congo after a motorized wooden boat caught and capsized. Reuters news agency reports this on the basis of local officials. The boat reportedly transported around 500 passengers, including women and children, when it turned on the Congorivier in the northwest of the country.

According to the reports, hundreds of people are still missing. About 100 survivors were housed in an improvised shelter in the local town hall, while people with burns were taken to nearby hospitals.

The boat called HB KongoloVlam took Mandaka near the city of Mandaka, after it had left the port of Matankumu with the Bolomba area as the destination.

The fire would have broken out after a woman was cooking on board, an eyewitness told AP news agency. Various passengers, including women and children, died after they jumped into the water in panic without being able to swim, according to the eyewitness.

Boot accidents often occur in Congo, where old wooden vessels are the most important means of transport between villages. These boats are often overloaded.

Last year at least 78 people drowned a boat with 278 passengers capsized on it Kivumeer In Eastern Congo. In another incident, at least 38 people died in a river boat December Sank in West Congo.

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