Local authorities confirmed that at least 32 people were dead and dozens were missing after two boats overturned on Lake Tumba in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Equatoria Province on Thursday.
The boats, carrying more than 100 passengers, left the port of Bikoro on the lake’s eastern shore on Wednesday afternoon. The vessels set off despite being clearly overloaded and despite unstable weather conditions, according to a statement from the Ecuadorian Panel of Civil Society Experts.
Witnesses described severe crowding, with some passengers reportedly turned away due to lack of space, civil society member Akula Dieu said.
Details on the exact weather conditions and the extent of the overload have not been independently verified.
Lake Commissioner Gabriel Ifulu Bongolomba in Bikoro said the boats were assigned by a family to ferry people to a funeral from an unauthorized departure point. He explained that the boats were overturned by rough waters triggered by heavy rain.
Rescue operations are ongoing but hampered by limited resources. “We have to rely on private boats for rescue missions and even then we often lack adequate fuel and basic safety equipment such as life jackets,” Bongolomba said.
Boat accidents are a common hazard in Congo, where poor enforcement of safety regulations and overloading of vessels are ongoing problems.