At least 78 die as ferry capsizes on DR Congo lake

By Grazia BritishOctober 3, 2024

At least 78 people have died after a ferry capsized on Lake Kivu, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, just a few hundred metres from its destination.

The boat was travelling from the town of Minova in South Kivu and sank as it was arriving on Goma's shore on Thursday morning.

A video circulating online shows the boat tilting to one side and then sinking.

There were 278 passengers onboard, according to a regional governor.

"It'll take at least three days to get the exact numbers, because not all the bodies have been found yet," Governor Jean Jacques Purisi told Reuters news agency.

A local activist, Aaron Ashuza, who was at the scene, told the BBC he saw bodies being pulled out of the river and said the injured had been taken to hospital.

At least two children died after they were taken to hospital after the accident, according to AFP.

Speaking from his hospital bed, 51-year-old survivor Alfani Buroko Byamungu, told Reuters news agency that conditions on the water seemed "calm".

He added: "I saw people sinking, many went under. I saw women and children sinking in the water, and I myself was on the verge of drowning, but God helped me."

Bahati Selemani, a dock worker who took part in the rescue effort, described what happened.

"We saw the boat start to capsize. We noticed that the boat was very overloaded and there were also strong waves," he told AP news agency.

"After that, the boat started to capsize little by little. Those who were upstairs started to throw themselves into the lake, and the boat capsized directly into the lake."

Such accidents are common in DR Congo, where boats are frequently overcrowded with passengers who are rarely given safety jackets and often cannot swim.

Rescue operations are made difficult as some ships rarely have passenger manifests.