In The Most Recent Boat Tragedy In The Congo, At Least 80 Passengers Perished

According to President Félix Tshisekedi, on Wednesday, a boat carrying over 270 passengers overturned on a river close to Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing over 80 people.
In the nation of central Africa, where overloading is frequently to blame, this was not the most recent fatal boat catastrophe. In February, for example, dozens of people died when an overcrowded boat drowned.
According to a statement citing Tshisekedi, the locally built boat overturned late on Monday in the Kwa River region of Maï-Ndombe province.
Ren Maker, the water commissioner in the Mushi area where the disaster occurred, was quoted by the U.N.-backed Radio Okapi as saying that the boat broke down owing to an engine failure while transporting 271 passengers to Kinshasa.
Eighty-six of the passengers perished, and 185 made it ashore after swimming almost 70 kilometers (43 miles) close to Mushie, the nearest city, according to Maker.
According to him, the boat broke apart as it struck the riverbank’s edge.
Congolese authorities have frequently issued advisories against overloading and promised to prosecute anyone who disobeys safety regulations when using water transportation. However, many of the passengers in the most rural areas—where there aren’t many roads—cannot afford public transportation.
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