DRC boat wrecks: 100s believed dead

2010-09-06 12:04

Nairobi/Kinshasa - Hundreds of people are feared dead after two weekend boat accidents in the Democratic Republic of Congo, media reports said on Monday.

The United Nations-backed Radio Okapi reported that a boat sailing without lights sank on the Ruki River early Saturday in Equateur province.

Fifteen people were confirmed dead and at least 60 were missing, government spokesperson Rebecca Ebala told the radio station.

Other reports said a riverboat possibly carrying hundreds of people capsized after catching fire on the Kasai River on Saturday night in Occidental province.

Information Minister Lambert Mende Omalanga told British broadcaster the BBC that the boat, which was stacked with fuel drums, should not have been carrying passengers.

Some reports indicated hundreds may have died, but Mende said it was unclear how many people had actually been travelling on the vessel.

"It seems that at least 24 people were on board because they have been rescued. But some other people might have died," he said. "And we don't have the report because this boat is not supposed to carry passengers."

The accidents were the latest in a line of such incidents in the sprawling Central African nation, where the lack of roads forces many to cram onto the ferries that ply the Congo River and its tributaries.

Many of the boats are poorly maintained and often overcrowded, leading to frequent deadly mishaps as passengers rarely know how to swim.

At least three similar accidents over the last year have left hundreds dead.

- SAPA