More than 100 people missing after boat capsizes in Democratic Republic of Congo

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – More than 100 people are missing after a boat capsized in western Democratic Republic of Congo, a local official said Tuesday.

The boat, with around 300 people on board, was heading to the town of Nioki from Oshwe when it sank around 7 p.m. local time (1800GMT) on Sunday in the territory of Kutu in the Lukenie River in Mai-Ndombe province, Jacques Nzenza Mongie, the territory administrator, told reporters.

The boat hit tree trunks underwater and overturned, he said, citing survivors’ testimonies.

Nzenza said 20 bodies, including those of four women, had been recovered by late Tuesday, and the search continued for several missing.

The number of survivors was yet to be established, but local media put the number of those rescued at 43.

Nkoso Kevani Lebon, the governor of Mai-Ndombe province, expressed sympathies to the affected families and announced that drastic measures would be devised to put an end to boat accidents.

The accident comes two months after another boat capsized in June, killing more than 80 people in the Kwa River.