At Least 41 Persons Dead In DR Congo’s Boat Accident On Tanganyika Lake, Others Missing | Sahara Reporters

At least 41 people have died after a boat carrying about 100 passengers and cargo capsized on Lake Tanganyika in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Another 49 people were rescued from the vessel, while search operations continued for those still missing, Norris Mulongoyi, the transport minister for Tanganyika province, told The Associated Press.

The boat capsized near the Congolese village of Mapera while travelling from Kigoma port in Tanzania to Kalemie in the DRC on Thursday.

A survivor, Annie Moyoni, told Radio Okapi, a UN-backed Congolese broadcaster, that passengers were awakened at about 1am and discovered that the vessel was tilting to one side.

The Associated Press reported that hundreds of people have died in boat accidents in the DRC in recent years, with vessels often overloaded and lacking life jackets.

Boat travel remains a major means of transportation in the DRC, where limited road infrastructure and widespread poverty make it one of the most affordable ways to travel.

The latest incident is the second 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 Kigoma port while loading fuel, according to Radio Okapi.

Six crew members were killed and another was reported missing, the broadcaster said, citing port authorities. The vessel operated between Kigoma and Kalemie and transported fuel.

In July, at least 20 people were killed when a wooden boat carrying students returning from state examinations sank in central DRC.