A boat carrying around 100 passengers capsized on Lake Kivu in eastern Congo on Thursday, resulting in at least 50 fatalities, according to an AP report citing witnesses. The overloaded vessel was traveling from Minova in South Kivu province to Goma in North Kivu when it sank while trying to dock near the port of Kituku. Rescue teams have recovered at least 50 bodies, but the total number of passengers remains uncertain. Ten survivors have been taken to Kyeshero hospital, and local authorities report that rescue operations are ongoing.
South Kivu province governor Jean-Jacques Purusi informed a local radio station, “This boat was carrying about a hundred people when it had the capacity for only thirty.”
One survivor, Neema Chimanga, recounted the harrowing experience: “We saw the boat start to fill with water halfway. The door opened, and we tried to close it, but the water was already coming in, and the boat tilted.” She added, “I threw myself into the water and started swimming. I don’t know how I made it out.”
Residents and victims’ families gathered at the port, expressing their frustrations towards authorities for negligence amid escalating regional insecurity. Many have turned to maritime transport due to the closure of the road between Goma and Minova, which is affected by ongoing conflict. Shipping agent Elia Asumani remarked, “We are afraid. This shipwreck was predictable.”
This tragedy follows a similar incident in February when a boat with 50 passengers capsized on Lake Kivu, and in June, 80 people died when another overloaded boat sank near Kinshasa. Earlier this year, 22 people perished on Lake Maï-Ndombe, while in April, six were killed and 64 went missing on Lake Kivu.
