A Congo River boat collision has killed at least 30 people and left dozens missing after two motorised wooden vessels crashed in Equateur province, local authorities said.
The boats collided on Sunday evening near Ngombe-Lukolela. Provincial interior minister Crispin Mputu said the victims had been buried, while search teams continued to look for survivors and others who may have died.
One vessel was travelling from Ubangi in the north-west towards the capital, Kinshasa. The other was heading from Kinshasa to Lukolela, close to where the crash occurred.
The cause of the collision was not immediately established. Mr Mputu said travelling on the river at night had been linked to numerous accidents in the past.
A member of the security forces who said he saw the crash from the riverbank claimed the boat returning from Ubangi was carrying too many goods when it struck the vessel coming from Kinshasa.
“Almost all the passengers on board were trapped underwater, and the boat itself also sank,” the security force member said.
He spoke anonymously, saying he was not authorised to comment publicly without permission from his superiors.
Deadly boating accidents are common in the central African country, with late-night journeys and overcrowded vessels often blamed. Poor safety standards and inadequate infrastructure in remote areas have also contributed to hundreds of deaths in boat disasters in recent years.
In July, at least 20 people died when a wooden boat carrying students returning from state examinations sank in Kasai province as it entered the confluence of the Sankuru and Kasai rivers.
