DRC allays fears of boating deaths

2010-09-06 22:22

Kinsasha - The Congolese government said on Monday at least 26 people had drowned in two boating disasters at the weekend while denying initial reports that hundreds of people could have died.

Government spokesperson Lambert Mende told AFP that "24 died in a capsize" of a fishing boat due to bad weather in Equateur province in western Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday, adding that the boat was carrying up to 30 people.

Mende, who is also the government's communications minister, also reported that a cargo vessel caught fire and sank on a river in Kasai-Occidental province on Saturday and initially it was not known if there were any deaths.

But by the end of Monday "two bodies had been recovered", Mende said, which brought the total known death toll from the two disasters to 26.

At the same time, 24 people survived the cargo ship sinking, he said.

The governor of Kasai-Occidental province, Tresor Kapuku, told AFP that Saturday's tragedy occurred after "a fire on the boat that was transporting freight, mostly petrol."

"There were 26 survivors who were able to swim to safety," he said, citing a slightly higher number than the government spokesperson.

Kapuku added that "no boat on the Kasai river (where the accident took place) can transport 200 or 300 people. They are small boats", he said.

Initial reports had said hundreds of people could have drowned.

The UN-backed Radio Okapi gave a preliminary report of 15 deaths and 60 people missing after Sunday's fishing boat capsize.

"There have only been 15 survivors while nearly 100 people were on board," the radio said, citing among others, the spokesperson for the provincial government of Equateur, Rebecca Ebala.

In July, 19 people were officially declared dead and 30 went missing after a boat sank between the province of Bandundu and the capital Kinshasa.

Boats and ferries are commonly used in DR Congo. Almost the size of western Europe, the country is home to several major lakes and rivers, including the 4 700km Congo.

Accidents are frequent due to overloading, inexperienced sailors, bad navigation aids on the rivers, poor maintenance and lack of safety equipment on most vessels, ranging from life jackets to buoys.

- SAPA