Uganda Police divers and local fishermen search for victims of a boat
disaster on Lake Albert on March 23, 2013. At least 14 people are feared
drowned after two overcrowded, rickety boats sank in the River Congo.
FILE PHOTO | NATION
At least 14 people are feared drowned after two overcrowded,
rickety boats sank in the River Congo,
the interior minister of DR Congo told AFP Wednesday, though local sources fear the toll could be much higher.
the interior minister of DR Congo told AFP Wednesday, though local sources fear the toll could be much higher.
"Fourteen missing, 108 survived," the
Democratic Republic of Congo's interior minister, Henri Mova, said in an
email, after the two vessels sank in the river in the southwestern
province of Mai-Ndombe.
Local official Didace Pembe said many more people may have died.
"The
crowded vessels were sailing at night, and they were suddenly hit by
strong winds. Many more went missing in this accident than those who
survived," Pembe said.
Local fisherman Leon Bateko told
AFP by phone that weather conditions on the powerful river "were
extremely bad", hampering the rescue efforts.
"The
truth about the toll will never been known because there are no lists
that can tell us how many people were actually on board," Claude
Bononge, who manages several privately-owned ports in DR Congo, told
AFP.
Makeshift boats are forbidden from sailing at night on Congolese
waters. "How were they able to sidestep the ban?" Bononge asked.
Boat
accidents occur frequently in DR Congo, both in the vast country's
lakes and on its rivers. Waterways are a substitute for travelling by
road — the country has few highways, and they are often poorly
maintained.
The number of victims can be high because
boats can be overcrowded and lack life jackets, and passengers routinely
do not know how to swim.
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