After the accident on the Mpoko River in the capital Bangui, people are still missing, the head of the Civil Defense of the Central African Republic, Thomas Djimasse, told Radio Guira on Saturday. According to eyewitnesses and video footage, more than 300 people were on board the boat during Friday’s accident.
So far, 58 bodies have been recovered, Djimasse said, adding: “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater.”
According to witness statements and video recordings shared on online networks, the passengers were on their way to the funeral of a village leader when the overloaded barge became tilted and sank shortly after setting off. According to the civil defense director, the rescue workers arrived at the scene of the accident 40 minutes after the boat capsized.
The government expressed its condolences to the bereaved families and announced the opening of an investigation and the establishment of a support system for the victims’ families.
Maurice Kapenya, who followed the barge in a canoe due to lack of space on the boat, said his sister was among the fatalities he rescued. Local fishermen and residents helped him. Motorcycle taxis evacuated some of the injured.
There were no civil defense rescue workers at the scene of the accident on Saturday, so desperate families searched for missing relatives with the help of hired canoeists, as a journalist from the AFP news agency observed. Opposition parties expressed solidarity with the families and called for national mourning.
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Source: Nachrichten
