congo boat accident
At least 78 people died after a boat capsized in Lake Kivu in the Central African country of Congo on Thursday. Jean-Jacques Purussi, the governor of South Kivu province, said there were 278 people on board. He said at least 78 people died and the death toll could rise. Earlier, eyewitnesses said that there were more passengers on the boat than its capacity. The boat sank a few meters from Kituku port in the eastern part of the country. The boat was to reach its port, but the boat sank a few hundred meters before reaching its destination.
The boat that was involved in the accident was going from Minova in South Kivu province to Goma in North Kivu province. On reaching the shore of Goma, the boat met with an accident and sank. A video of this incident has also surfaced on social media, in which the boat first tilts to one side and then sinks.
Accidents have happened before too
Earlier in June, 80 passengers lost their lives when a boat sank near Congo’s capital Kinshasa. In January, 22 people died when their boat capsized in Lake Mai-Ndombe. Such incidents are quite common in Congo. Here the boat is filled with more people and goods than its capacity. At the same time, passengers are not even given life jackets. In such a situation, the boat capsizes when the wave rises. After this the rescue operation becomes difficult. Same thing happened in this accident also. The boat had more luggage than its capacity. At first the water was calm, but later waves started moving and the boat sank. A person who survived the accident said that at first everything was calm, then waves started moving and the boat tilted. In such a situation, the people sitting above started jumping into the water and gradually the entire boat sank. An official said it may take at least three days to know the exact death toll.
(Input- PTI language)
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