According to the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s transport minister, the number of individuals who have died as a result of the sinking of a boat in the Congo River last week has increased to 47, with many more still unaccounted for.
Authorities from the northwest Equateur province first reported on Sunday (Oct. 15, 2023) that 28 bodies had been retrieved from the river and that dozens more were still missing.
Transport Minister Marc Ekila announced the increased toll at a press conference on Monday (Oct. 16, 2023), but added that owing to an “irregular situation,” “we were unable to get the records to determine the exact number of passengers on board.”
According to the minister, “overloading” was the cause of the tragedy, and the midnight operation of “wooden boats” was not permitted.
Late Friday night, the big riverboat departed from Mbandaka for the Bolomba Territory in the Equateur province of the DRC.
“We have asked provincial authorities to set up a commission of inquiry,” Ekila said.
Due to the lack of accessible roads in the country, travel frequently takes place on lakes, the Congo River, and its tributaries, where shipwrecks are common and the toll is frequently high.
According to meeting minutes, President Felix Tshisekedi instructed ministers to “do everything possible to avoid shipwrecks… the main causes of which are overloading of passenger and merchandise, inadequate marking of waterways, nighttime navigation, and the non-compliance of boats with regulations.”
The country needs “an action plan,” according to Tshisekedi, who has been in office since 2019 and is running for re-election in December, to make sure the Congo river plays a “driving role in economic development.”
Ref: AFP
