Congo: Over 80 Dead As Boat Capsizes On River Due To Engine Failure

According to the Associated Press, the statement quoting the president said that the locally made boat capsized late Monday in Ma?-Ndombe province as it carried more than 100 passengers along the Kwa River.

Outlook Web Desk

Updated on: 12 June 2024 9:21 pm

Representational Image | Photo: X/@Africanreality1

In a tragic incident, over 80 travelers have died as a boat capsized on a river near capital Kinshasa, said Congo's President Félix Tshisekedi.

Reportedly this is considered the latest deadly boat accident in the central African country where overloading is often blamed.

BREAKING: A boat has capsized in western Congo, killing more than 80 people, the nation’s leader says. https://t.co/8O9Dy7wg83
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 12, 2024

According to the Associated Press, the statement quoting the president said that the locally made boat capsized late Monday in Ma?-Ndombe province as it carried more than 100 passengers along the Kwa River.

Later, the UN-backed Radio Okapi revealed that the boat was carrying 271 passengers to Kinshasa when it broke down due to an engine failure,

Eighty-six of the passengers died while 185 managed to swim ashore, some 70 kilometers (43 miles) near the closest city of Mushie.