The number of deaths of a boat fire and the capacity of the Democratic Republic of Congo earlier this week has increased to 148 with more than 100 people who disappeared, officials announced on Friday.
About 500 passengers were aboard the wooden boat when he capsized Tuesday after caught fire on the Congo river in the northwest of the country.
The disaster began when a fire started while a person was cooked on the ship, said competent Loyoko, the river commissioner. Several passengers, including women and children, died after jumping in the water without being able to swim.
Dozens have been saved, but many survivors were seriously burned. The search for missing rescue teams included the Red Cross and the provincial authorities.
The motorized wooden boat caught fire near the city of Mbandaka, said Loyoko. The boat, HB Kongolo, had left the port of Matankumu for the territory of Bolomba.
“The number of deaths among the 500 passengers on board was extremely high,” Senator Jean-Paul Bofili Bofili said on Friday. “While we are talking, more than 150 survivors with third degree burns are without humanitarian aid.”
Accidents of deadly boats are common in the Central African country, where the end of the evening trips and overcrowded ships are often blamed. Authorities found it difficult to apply maritime regulations.
Congo rivers are a main means of transport for more than 100 million people, especially in remote areas with little infrastructure. Hundreds have been killed in boats accidents in recent years while more and more people have abandoned the few roads available for wooden ships filled with passengers and their goods.
“Our magnificent Congo river and the lakes in which our abounded country has become enormous cemeteries for the Congolese people. It’s unacceptable, ”said Bofili.
