At least 41 die as boat capsizes in DRC’s Lake Tanganyika | Shipping News
Lake Tanganyika Boat Capsizes, Leaving 41 Dead and Dozens Rescued
Democratic Republic of the Congo — At least 41 people have died, with 49 others rescued, after a vessel capsized on Lake Tanganyika. The incident occurred near the village of Mapera in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Norris Mulongoyi, the provincial transport minister for Tanganyika province, confirmed to The Associated Press that search operations are ongoing to locate additional passengers who may still be missing. Reports indicate that the boat was carrying approximately 100 people and cargo when it sank.
The vessel was traveling from Kigoma, Tanzania, to Kalemie, DRC, when it went down on Thursday. A survivor, Annie Moyoni, recounted to Radio Okapi, a UN-backed news outlet, that passengers were jolted awake around 1 a.m. as the boat began to tilt sharply.
The cause of the capsizing remains under investigation. The DRC has a troubling history of maritime disasters, with hundreds of fatalities occurring in recent years due to overloading and a widespread lack of life jackets on vessels.
For many in the DRC, boat travel remains one of the most affordable means of transportation, despite the country’s ongoing struggle with infrastructure limitations impacting its population of over 100 million.
This incident marks the second calamity involving a Congolese vessel on the Kigoma-Kalemie route in less than a month. On August 28, the MV Pacifique caught fire and exploded at the Kigoma port while loading fuel, resulting in the deaths of six crew members, with another reported missing, according to port authorities.
In July, an additional tragedy unfolded when at least 20 people drowned when a wooden boat carrying students returning from state examinations sank in central DRC.
