Friday has been declared a day of national mourning in the Democratic Republic of Congo following the sinking of a passenger boat on Lake Kivu, which lies between the DRC and Rwanda.
The passenger boat was traveling from Goma to Kalehe, and sank on Monday night. By the following day, 37 people had been rescued. Its manifest listed 49 adults, but had made a stopover [FRE] where passengers boarded, and cargo, including cement and beans.
As such, the actual number of passengers aboard the vessel at the time of the tragedy is uncertain. Which would explain why the presidency had on Wednesday tweeted that 150 were missing, but then withdrew that statement.
An updated statement from the presidency lists 114 people as missing. At least 10 bodies have been recovered from the Rwandan side of the lake.
On Thursday, President Felix Tshisekedi visited Kalehe, where he decreed that passenger boats wouldn’t be allowed to ferry passengers without having lifejackets for each passenger aboard. The president also gave 1,000 lifejackets to the provincial administration.
Pres. Tshisekedi also announced that 4 ports would be built to facilitate the docking of larger vessels.
Furthermore, the Goma-Bukavu Road, which passes through Kalehe, would be rehabilitated. This is the route that would have been used by the boat passengers had it been accessible.
This latest tragedy is an unfortunate reminder of just how much maritime safety remains very much wanting across the Great Lakes region.
This past December, a party boat on the Ugandan side of L. Victoria capsized, leading to the deaths of more than 30 people.
This tragedy occurred a few months after MV Nyerere sank on the Tanzanian side of the Lake, taking at least 130 lives.
Further back in time, at least 250 people died the boat they were using to travel from Uganda to the DR Congo capsized on Lake Albert. This tragedy, which occurred in March 2014, was described as DR Congo’s worst shipwreck by the government.
Africa Global News Publication
By Matengo Chwanya
