A devastating incident unfolded in the Democratic Republic of Congo where at least 148 lives were lost after a motorized wooden boat caught fire and capsized, according to media reports citing local authorities on Friday.
Officials reported that hundreds of individuals remain unaccounted for following the Tuesday accident on the Congo River, where the boat caught fire and overturned, the reports detailed. The vessel was carrying a staggering number of passengers, estimated to be around 500, including women and children, when it tragically capsized in the Congo River, situated in the country’s northwestern region, the reports further stated.
Sadly, boating accidents are not uncommon in Congo, where aged wooden boats serve as the primary mode of transportation between villages and are frequently overloaded well beyond their safe capacity. Officials estimate that the count of missing people still stands in the hundreds, the reports added. The initial estimate of the death toll was around 50.
The boat, identified as HB Kongolo, caught fire in the vicinity of the town of Mbandaka, having set sail from the port of Matankumu en route to the Bolomba territory. Sky News reported that approximately 100 survivors were given temporary shelter at the local town hall, while those who sustained burn injuries were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment.
The river commissioner, Compétent Loyoko, informed the Associated Press that the tragic event occurred when a fire erupted as a woman was cooking onboard the vessel. The report also noted that several passengers, including vulnerable women and children, perished after jumping into the water, unable to swim to safety.
In a grim reminder of past incidents, at least 78 people drowned in 2024 when a boat carrying 278 passengers capsized in Lake Kivu, located in eastern Congo. In another separate tragedy in December, at least 22 lives were lost when a riverboat sank in western Congo.
