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More than 100 killed in Congo shipwreck

December 14, 2014

Around 130 people are known to have died after a passenger ship capsized on a lake in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The vessel is reported to have been overloaded when it sank.

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Bootsunglück auf dem Tanganjikasee (Demokratische Republik Kongo)
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Frentzen

The ship is believed to have gone down on Thursday night or in the early hours of Friday, but on Sunday the reported death toll rose dramatically.

"Rescue workers recovered a total of 129 bodies," Laurent Kahozi Sumba, the transport minister for the Democratic Republic of Congo's Katanga province, said on Sunday. On Saturday, provincial officials had put the death toll at just 26. Sumba also said at least 232 people were known to have survived the accident.

The death toll could rise even further, as the authorities were continuing to search for bodies.

An investigation has been launched, but officials said early indications were that strong winds on Lake Tanganyika, one of Central Africa's Great Lakes, as well as overloading of the vessel, which was carrying both passengers and cargo, were to blame.

Common occurance

The MV Mutambala was a privately owned boat that linked towns in Katanga and South Kivu province.

Boating accidents are not uncommon in the region and casualties are often high due to a shortage of life jackets and the fact that many there cannot swim.

Lake Tanganyika is the world's longest freshwater lake as well as being one of the biggest. It also borders Tanzania, Burundi and Zambia.

pfd/jr (AFP, Reuters, AP)