Dozens dead after boat accident in DR Congo

Dozens of people are believed to have died in a boat accident in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Thursday’s incident was the latest boat accident in the central African country, where overcrowding is often blamed.

Witnesses have told The Associated Press a least 50 people died as the boat capsized on Lake Kivu, in the east of the country, with another 10 taken to hospital.

According to Colonel Molatelo Motau of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission, about 23 bodies have been recovered and 40 people rescued.

Reuters news agency reports a local migration authority said about 45 males and 35 females were registered as passengers, although those are not definitive figures.

Several survivors have told Reuters they spotted nearly 200 people on board, while AP reports witnesses saying that the boat was overloaded with passengers and sank while trying to dock just metres from the port of Kituku.

Reuters also reports it has seen a video – which it has not verified – showing the two-deck boat tilting sideways before sinking in calm waters.

In the summer, 80 passengers died when an overloaded boat sank near the capital Kinshasa.

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About 150 people died in April 2019, when a boat sank in Lake Kivu.

Such incidents are common in DR Congo, which has few roads outside of major towns and where boats are frequently loaded well beyond their capacity.