Local authorities raised this Friday from 23 to 78 the number of people who died in the shipwreck this Thursday of a ship on Lake Kivu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and one of the largest in Africa, where at least 87 people are still missing.
“Currently we have a still provisional balance of 78 dead, 87 missing and 9 survivors. However, our teams continue the search to find other bodies,” the governor of the province of South Kivu, Jean-Jacques Purusi, told EFE by telephone.
“This tragedy would have occurred due to the sinking of the structure of the ship that was overloaded. “We continue the search and rescue of survivors,” the governor added.
The number of survivors contrasts with that provided this Thursday by the vice-governor of the neighboring province of North Kivu (also adjacent to the lake), Jean-Romuald Ekuka Lipopo, who placed the number of passengers who saved their lives at at least 58.
The multi-story ship “MV Merdi” capsized and quickly sank around 11:00 local time (10:00 GMT) about 700 meters from the port of Kituku in the city of Goma, capital of North Kivu and destination end of the ship from Minova, in South Kivu.
According to Lipopo, who did not specify the number of travelers on board, although local media report about 300, the boat was also transporting goods and food products destined for the Kituku market.
The President of the DRC, Félix Tshisekedi, ordered the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport, Jean Pierre Bemba, to open an investigation to “clarify the causes of this unfortunate accident and take strict measures so that such a tragedy does not occur again,” according to a statement from the Presidency.
This incident occurred just two weeks after another shipwreck in the province of Kwango (southwest) that caused at least 24 deaths in the river of the same name.
The sinking of ships is relatively common in the DRC because rivers and lakes are used daily as transportation routes, in a country with little infrastructure and dense jungles.
The ships, often precarious, usually travel heavily loaded and signage is almost non-existent.
With information from La Patilla
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2024-10-04 21:19:28
