Two held after ferry disaster

2008-01-31 21:22

Lubumbashi - Police have arrested two port officials at Kalemie in southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo for alleged negligence after a ferry disaster claimed 17 lives and left dozens of people missing.

Sadiki Kandolo, the officer in charge of the probe into the accident, said: "By order of the district commissioner, agents Morisho Awabo and Katanda Kyessa have been arrested for failing in their duty."

Awabo was in charge of harbour safety and Kyessa responsible for passenger lists at the port on Lake Tanganyika in Katanga province, where the maritime inspection service reported the disaster on Wednesday.

The overloaded barge struck a rock about 5km from the port on the DRC side of the vast, lake that is shared by Tanzania, Burundi and Zambia.

The bodies of nine children were among those so far recovered, but a search was still under way, said Kandolo.

Many unlisted passengers

The ferry left Kalemie with a passenger manifest of 58, but there were "at least 150 people on board", said one of the 120 passengers who were rescued.

The governor of Katanga Province on Thursday provided a boat to help the survivors return to their home villages, on the lake shore.

Port official Xavier Kasimbo said on Wednesday: "There were 58 passengers on the manifest, but we know there were a lot of unlisted passengers as well. The operators always take as many as possible,". "We'll never know for sure exactly how many people were on board."

The barge operated a regular service between Kalemie and Moba, about 150km to the south. As well as too many passengers, it was also believed to be heavily overloaded with various goods.

"It's always like that," said one maritime inspector. "A boat only leaves when it's completely full - when there's no space for even one more passenger, or one more container."

Ferry disasters are relatively common on Congolese waterways, with overloading being the most-common cause.

Lake Tanganyika is estimated to be the second largest freshwater lake in the world by volume, and the second deepest.

- SAPA