30 dead, over 100 missing in DR Congo river boat tragedy

Authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have confirmed that 30 people were killed while at least 167 others have gone missing after a boat capsized and sank in the northwestern part of the country on Friday, October 13.

The unnamed vessel was ferrying passengers and cargo including construction materials along the Congo River in Equateur Province when it overturned and sank near the city of Mbandaka on Friday evening (local time).

A local news outlet said the boat was overloaded, leading to stability problems and its subsequent capsizing.

Equateur health minister Didier Mbula said that 189 survivors have been successfully rescued.

Officials expect that the death toll will still climb with the continuation of search and rescue/recovery operations in the waters off Mbandaka.

Friday’s capsizing is the third fatal passenger vessel incident to occur in Equateur in just over a year. A capsizing off Wendji-Secli locality in October 2022 left 27 people dead while another incident in the Lulonga River near the town of Basankusu in January of this year claimed 72 lives.