The incident would have originated when a woman lit fire to cook aboard the ship, which caused the fire. Many passengers, including women and children, died when they threw themselves into the water without knowing how to swim. There are hundreds of missing.
At least 148 people lost their lives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo after A wooden vessel will catch fire and turnlocal media reported this Friday, citing official sources.
According to the reports, The ship carried around 500 people on boardincluding numerous women and children, when the accident occurred on Tuesday in the Congo River, in the northwest area of the country.
These types of tragedies are not unusual in the region, where River transport with outdated wooden ships is common and frequently overload beyond their capacity.
The authorities believe that still There are hundreds of missingas reported by various means. Around a hundred survivors were temporarily lodged in the local town hallwhile those with burns were transferred to hospitals, said Sky News.
The incident would have originated when a woman lit fire to cook aboard the ship, which caused the fire, a local official explained to the Associated Press agency. Many passengers, including women and children, died when they threw themselves into the water without knowing how to swim.
This is not the only recent river tragedy in the country. In 2024, at least 78 people died drowned in Lake Kivu, in the east of the Congo, after the overturn of a boat that transported 278 passengers. In another case, at least 22 people died in December when another boat was shipwrecked in the western region.
Source: Ambito
