Davie blog

Scores feared missing after DRC river disasters

KINSHASA (AFP) – The Congolese government denied Monday that hundreds of people drowned in two boating disasters at the weekend but admitted it was unable to give the exact number of victims.

Government spokesman Lambert Mende told AFP that "24 died in a capsize" of a fishing boat in Equateur province in western Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday, adding that the boat was carrying up to 30 people.

But Mende, who is also the government's communications minister, said that nobody was sure how many people were aboard a cargo vessel that caught fire and sank on a river in Kasai-Occidental province the day before.

He said 24 people managed to swim to safety, but admitted the government had no idea if there were any deaths.

Initial reports said hundreds of people could have drowned.

"Nobody is in a position to say at this moment whether there were others on the boat apart from the survivors and if there are people who are dead or missing," said Mende.

"The deputy governor is there on the spot and he will send his report to us only today. We therefore have no basis to talk figures now. There was not even a passenger list as it was a cargo vessel," he added.

The governor of Kasai-Occidental province, Tresor Kapuku, told AFP that Saturday's tragedy occurred after "a fire on the boat that was transporting freight, mostly petrol".

"There were 26 survivors who were able to swim to safety," he said, citing a slightly higher number than the government spokesman.

Kapuku added that "no boat on the Kasai river (where the accident took place) can transport 200 or 300 people. They are small boats", he said.

The UN-backed Radio Okapi reported that 60 people were missing after Sunday's fishing boat capsize.

"There have only been 15 survivors while nearly 100 people were on board," the radio said, citing among others, the spokeswoman for the provincial government of Equateur, Rebecca Ebala.

In July, 19 people were officially declared dead and 30 went missing after a boat sank between the province of Bandundu and the capital Kinshasa.

Boats and ferries are commonly used in DR Congo. Almost the size of western Europe, the country is home to several major lakes and rivers, including the 4,700-kilometre (3,000-mile) Congo.

Accidents are frequent due to overloading, inexperienced sailors, bad navigation aids on the rivers, poor maintenance and lack of safety equipment on most vessels, ranging from life jackets to buoys.