Breaking news suggest that a boat carrying passengers and goods capsized on Lake Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday. So far, 23 bodies have been recovered, but survivors say nearly 200 people were on board.
This boat on Lake Kivu that capsized on Thursday near the Port of Kituku in Goma, sent dozens of passengers into the water. While around 40 people have been rescued, a local migration authority said that initial passenger manifests showed only 45 males and 35 females had registered for the journey.
Several survivors reported seeing nearly 200 people on board before the boat tilted sideways and capsized in calm waters. Videos of the incident are circulating online, and The Daily Wolf was able to immediately verify them.
Colonel Molatelo Motau of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo reported that 23 bodies had been recovered as of Thursday. And dozens remain unseen and hopes of finding them alive are now faint.
It should be known that, this is not the first time a boat has capsized on Lake Kivu. Although, this is the first of its weight on the same lake. And it should further be known that this latest tragedy has sparked calls for increased safety measures and stricter enforcement of maritime regulations in the DRC.
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This is because all eyewitnesses claim that the ferry was overloaded to past capacity and this is suspected to be the major cause of this Lake Kivu ferry accident. More details will follow as they arise.
