DRC: 3 Drowned and 20 Missing Post-Boat Capsizing on Lake Kivu

An Unfortunate Overnight Incident on Lake Kivu

Twenty people went missing Tuesday night after a boat capsized on Lake Kivu, in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Some 50 people have been rescued and at least three already pronounced dead — a woman and two children.

Daniel Mutukura, a survivor of the accident, outlined the series of unfortunate events.

"I was in the pirogue that capsized and what happened was around 7 pm when we left Luhhihi, when we arrived in Nyabirehe towards Mushenyi the boat started to capsize, there was a strong wave and it was raining, we missed where to go, the captain lost direction and we were very overloaded and the boat lost its balance."

In addition to human lives, several goods and a large amount of money for small traders have also gone missing.

Ongoing and Still Unresolved

The umpteenth incident of its kind, locals accuse state services of failing to regulate the law on navigation on Lake Kivu as many passengers travel without lifevests on boats that require an upgrade.

Another survivor is frustrated that these accidents keep occurring.

"The President of the Republic was here in April last year when he had another shipwreck in the centre of Mukwinja, he promised the population that he would build a port and bring boats that would help people to travel easily, but it's already been a year since then, nothing has been done, the government has not responded to us and we continue to raise the alarm."

The boat provided a commercial link between the localities of Luhihi in South Kivu and the city of Goma, capital of North Kivu province