At least 78 people are missing after a boat carrying 278 passengers capsized a few hundred meters from the shores of Lake Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday morning.
The accident happened when the vessel MV Merdy was crossing the lake from Minoa and docked at Kitugu port just outside Goma.
Many who watched the disaster from the landing craft were waiting to meet friends and family or were traders from a nearby market.
The boat, which was built to carry only 80 people, was reportedly carrying 278 people.
The South Kivu provincial governor said the death toll so far was 78, with 278 people on board. “It will take at least three days to get the exact numbers, because not all the bodies have been found yet,” said Jean-Jacques Bourici. Reuters.
The route across Lake Kivu has become congested and heavily used as fighting between government forces and M23 rebels has made the roads dangerous or impassable.
Between Goma and Minoa, trucks carrying food and other goods are stopped or checked, forcing many traders to transport goods across Lake Kivu. Insecurity has also pushed the cost of road transport beyond the reach of most people.
27-year-old Nuru lives in Alpha Coma. 12 members of his family were on the boat; He waited for their arrival for several days.
“I had family members on this ship. Unfortunately, two of them died. Three are in the hospital and I have not heard from the other seven,” he said.
“These people were our shield. They were our livelihood and now what we are left with is quite a void,” he said.
“We came from Minoa around 8am and when we wanted to go to the dock, the boat capsized. That’s when I miraculously swam to the shore,” said 17-year-old survivor Emmanuel Furaha.
Boat accidents on Lake Kivu have been on the rise in recent years. In 2019, more than 150 people drowned when a wooden boat capsized en route from Kalehe to Goma in South Kivu. Officials said further investigations are underway A boat capsized last month in the Quango RiverIt killed at least four people and left more than 40 missing.
Congolese maritime authorities have ordered boats on Lake Kivu to carry life jackets.
However, Goma-based politician Johnson Ishara said water conservation rules were not enforced.
“What just happened in Kitugu is a scandal and it shows that the problems of airparking are constantly being reported at Goma’s ports. All the users of these boats plying on Lake Kivu lack technical controls,” he said.
“There are no life jackets on board. I didn’t see anyone wearing a life jacket. Perhaps, if life jackets were available, many more would have survived,” Emmanuel said.
Adeline Bora, a 35-year-old trader from Kitugu, lost her sister-in-law and aunt in the drowning.
“If we had all gone to Minoa, we would not have seen this disaster. Let the war end so that this road can be reopened. If it had been a road, my loved ones would not have died,” he said.
Thomas Bagenga, the administrator of the Kalehe region where the boat originated, said the boarding manifest had more than 80 passengers and promised an investigation would now be held.
A person close to the Malawian army, which is part of the South African Development Community peacekeeping force in the DRC and participated in the rescue operations, said 40 people had been rescued, but the death toll was expected to rise.
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