President Felix Tshisekedi has announced that more than 80 citizens of Democratic Republic of the Congo have died.
Their deaths occurred after the vessel they were travelling in sank. The vessel embarked on a night sail. The cause of the accident is still unknown.
The vessel capsized on Wednesday on the Kwa River, about 70km (43 miles) from the city of Mushie in Mai-Ndombe province. The Kwa River is a popular route for travellers.
“The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is calling for an investigation into the true causes of this unfortunate incident, to prevent such a disaster from happening again in the future,” the presidency said in a statement posted on X formerly known as Twitter.
Tshisekedi “sends his condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims,” the statement statement concluded.
The presidency also called for mobilization of relevant authorities to the area the accident happened to help the people.
Local divers are jumping into the sea to see if they could rescue anyone. The only rescue possible will be the corpses of the victims as the accident happened in the night when people to help rescue were absent.
Speaking to Reuters news agency, Rita Bola Dula, Mai-Ndombe province governor, said that the vessel sank in the night, and that they couldn’t pinpoint the cause of the accident.
Further said investigation is ongoing to determine what caused the accident.
DRC is known for boat accidents as citizens often use sea for transportation. The reason for sea transportation is as a result of poor roads in the country.
DRC barely tarred their roads, forcing travellers to rely on boats when travelling. As a result of this means of transportation, boat accidents are rampant in the country.
The government have not taken responsibility for the state of the country, often shifting blames when boat accidents take high number of citizens. There are many unreported minor boat accidents.
The travellers prefer to go by night to evade the security for overloading. Sailors carry more than the number of people or weight expected and choose night journey to avoid questioning and extortion.
Investigation is being waited to determine how the boat sank. But, the government is not willing to change the reality facing travellers in the country.
The country is faced with corruption which has led to poor economy and high rate of crime. While the capsized boat is a subject of investigation, it doesn’t stop further accidents as a result of poor governance.
There are no measures by the government to control rampant boat accidents in the country.
The security agents have preferred taking bribes over enforcing the law on the sea. This attitude has given sailors and travellers the enabling ground to act with impunity.
Speaking after the accident, a citizen threw more light into what had caused the accident.
“These sailors want to make huge money, and they have security agents to settle. It makes them overload vessels to meet up with the cost for travelling. Nobody will change that reality for the citizens”
