Overloaded ferry capsizes in Congo, killing dozens and leaving more than 100 missing

A ferry overloaded with people returning home for Christmas sank in the Busira River in northeastern Congo, leaving 38 people dead and more than 100 missing, officials and eyewitnesses said Saturday. Twenty people have been rescued so far.

The sinking of the ferry on Friday night came less than four days after another ship capsized in the northeast of the country, killing 25 people.

The ferry was traveling as part of a convoy of other ships, and the passengers were mainly merchants returning home for Christmas, said Joseph Joseph Kangolingoli, mayor of Ingende, the last town on the river before the crash site.

According to Ingende resident Ndolo Kaddy, the ferry was carrying “more than 400 people because it stopped at two ports, Ingende and Loolo, on the way to Boende, so there is reason to believe that there were more deaths.”

Congolese officials have often warned against overloading boats and have promised to punish those who violate safety measures on the rivers. However, in remote areas, many people cannot afford public transportation on the few roads available.

At least 78 people drowned in October when an overloaded ship sank in the east of the country, while 80 lost their lives in a similar accident near Kinshasa, the country’s capital, in June.

The latest accident sparked anger against the government for not equipping the convoy with flotation devices.

Nesty Bonina, a member of the local government and a prominent figure in Mbandaka, the capital of Équateur province where the ferry sank, denounced the authorities for failing to properly manage the recent sinkings.

“How can a ship navigate at night under the watchful eye of river service agents? And now we are recording more than a hundred deaths,” Bonina said.

Capsizing of overloaded boats is becoming more common in the Central African nation as more people, for safety reasons, abandon the few available roads in favor of wooden boats that crumble under the weight of passengers and their goods.

Roads are often caught in deadly clashes between Congolese security forces and rebels who sometimes block main access routes.