Eight drowned, 20 missing in DR Congo shipwreck

This photograph, taken on February 8, 2021, shows an aerial view of the Congo River on the outskirts of Mbandaka, Equateur Province, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. (Photo by ALEXIS HUGUET / AFP)

Bukavu, DR Congo — At least eight people drowned and 20 others were missing after their motorized canoe broke in two on Lake Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities said Friday.

The large lake, straddling the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo with Rwanda, is one of many waterways in constant use in the vast country where roads are often not fit for purpose.

But in changeable weather, with waves slamming the hulls of perilously overloaded wooden boats where safety rules are routinely ignored, shipwrecks often occur at a heavy human and material cost.

The governorate of South Kivu province said there were “eight deaths, 20 missing, and 60 people saved” in the accident, which happened on Thursday.

Delphin Birimbi, a local civil society representative, told AFP the old canoe was overloaded and broke in two.

In 2019, a shipwreck claimed around 100 lives on the lake, prompting President Felix Tshisekedi to make life jackets compulsory for every passenger.

But in the canoes on Lake Kivu, standard orange life jackets are few and far between.

Tshisekedi, who had visited bereaved families, also promised new boats but none have so far materialized.

The head of state also promised the rehabilitation of four ports on the shores of the lake.

Provincial authorities recently welcomed a start to the work in Kalehe.