Officials reported that a tragic incident occurred in the Democratic Republic of Congo, resulting in at least 143 fatalities while dozens remain unaccounted for after a fuel-laden boat caught fire and capsized.
On Tuesday, numerous passengers were crammed onto a wooden vessel on the Congo River in the northwest DRC when the fire erupted, as stated by Josephine-Pacifique Lokumu, who leads a delegation of national deputies from the area.
The catastrophe took place near Mbandaka, the capital of Equateur Province, at the meeting point of the Ruki River and the expansive Congo River, renowned as the world’s deepest.
According to Ms. Lokumu, the blaze originated from a fuel explosion triggered by a fire used for cooking on board.
Footage shared on social media depicted flames leaping from a boat stranded far from the shore, with smoke billowing from the wreck and individuals on smaller boats watching in shock.
Families of the missing
The exact number of individuals aboard the ill-fated vessel is uncertain, but Ms. Lokumu indicated that it was in the “hundreds.”
Some survivors were rescued and received medical attention, she noted.
However, she mentioned that “several families are still awaiting news regarding their loved ones.”
The DRC, a vast Central African nation covering 2.3 million square kilometers, faces challenges due to a shortage of navigable roads, and air travel is limited to only certain cities and towns.
This situation often forces people to travel by water, utilizing the Congo River—Africa’s second-longest river after the Nile—and its meandering tributaries, where shipwrecks occur frequently and the casualty numbers tend to be high.
A persistent lack of passenger lists often complicates search and recovery efforts.
In October 2023, a boat sank in Equateur, leading to the deaths of at least 47 individuals.
Last October, local authorities reported that more than 20 people lost their lives when a boat capsized on Lake Kivu in eastern DRC.
In 2019, another tragic shipwreck on Lake Kivu resulted in approximately 100 fatalities.
