A boat capsized in Congo’s northwest killing at least 27 people, and more than 70 others were missing, a senior government official said on October 14 as rescuers searched frantically for survivors.
The locally made boat capsized late October 13 in the city of Mbandaka in Equateur Province as it transported more than 100 passengers along the Congo River to the town of Bolomba, according to Taylor Nganzi, deputy provincial governor.
“Already 27 bodies of victims have been removed from the waters (and) transported to the morgue of the general hospital in Mbandaka,” said Mr. Nganzi, adding that an investigation to find out the cause of the accident had begun.
The New Civil Society of Congo, a local civil society group, said 49 people died in the accident, which it said occurred after an engine failure. “Everything started to sink,” Jean-Pierre Wangela, president of the group, told reporters.
