Dozens are presumed dead after an overloaded boat capsizes on Lake Kivu in Congo

By Jean-Yves Kamale, KINSHASA DR Congo

The majority of the 50 passengers aboard a wooden boat that capsized on a lake in eastern Congo are presumed to be dead, a local official said.

The boat crossing Lake Kivu was also carrying 20 bags of cement and likely sank Sunday due to being overloaded, said Mustafa Mamboleo, an official with South Kivu province.

Mamboleo said 10 people survived and three bodies had been found, and the search continued for about 37 people.

Deadly boating accidents occur frequently in Congo, where crews often overload small wooden vessels. Earlier in January, 22 people died on Lake Maî-Ndombe. Last April, six were killed and 64 went missing on Lake Kivu.

Maritime regulations often are not adhered to, Daniel Lwaboshi, director of Congo’s Public Riverways Authority, said Monday on state television, adding that another primary driver of such accidents is overloading.