Death toll from DRC boat disaster rises to nearly 80

Residents gather to witness search and rescue mission: Death toll after a boat capsized in Lake Kivu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has risen to 80. (Photo/Reuters)

The death toll after a boat capsized in Lake Kivu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has risen to 78, the provincial governor said.

A frantic search and rescue operation was under way hours late on Thursday as many remained unaccounted for from the vessel, believed to have had 278 people on board.

"It'll take at least three days to get the exact numbers because not all the bodies have been found yet," Governor Jean Jacques Purisi told the Reuters news agency.

Relatives sobbed on shore as victims were placed in body bags and carried away, a Reuters witness said, and video footage shared widely online showed a packed multi-deck vessel listing sideways in calm waters before it overturned and pitched flailing passengers into the lake.

The vessel was going from Minova in South Kivu province to Goma, in North Kivu province.

"I was at the port of Kituku when I saw the boat arriving from Minova, full of passengers," witness Francine Munyi said.

"It started to lose its balance and sank into the lake. Some people threw themselves into the water."

"Many died, and few were saved," she added. "I couldn’t help them because I don't know how to swim."

'Women and children sinking'

The survivors were taken to Kyeshero hospital for treatment. One of them, Neema Chimanga, said she was still in shock.

"We saw the boat start to fill with water halfway," she recounted. "The door of the boat opened, and we tried to close it. But the water was already coming in, and the boat tilted."

"I threw myself into the water and started swimming," she said. "I don't know how I got out of the water."

Another one, 51-year-old Alfani Buroko Byamungu, said, "I saw people sinking, many went under. I saw women and children sinking in the water, and I myself was on the verge of drowning, but God helped me."

This is the latest deadly boat accident in the central African country, where overcrowding on vessels is often to blame.

Maritime regulations also are often not followed.

DRC officials have often warned against overloading and vowed to punish those violating safety measures for water transportation.

But in remote areas where most passengers come from, many are unable to afford public transport for the few available roads.

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Source: TRT