Latest news with #LakeTumba
Reuters
4 days ago
- Climate
- Reuters
Death toll rises in Congo Lake Tumba accident as search for survivors goes on
KINSHASA, June 16 (Reuters) - The death toll has risen to at least 45 after three motorized canoes capsized in Democratic Republic of Congo's Lake Tumba last Wednesday, a local official said, as the search for survivors continued. Lake Commissioner Gabriel Ifulu Bongolomba said some 45 people were killed in the accident, while others were believed missing. The search for survivors was under way with Red Cross help, he added, with 100 people or so confirmed alive so far. "Some survivors were afraid to come forward, fearing they might be arrested for using an unauthorized navigation route not controlled by the state," said Bongolomba. The interior ministry said 48 people were reported dead. Bongolomba said it was unclear exactly how many people were aboard because the three boats had departed from an unauthorized port. A commission of transport inspectors is now in Bikoro to investigate the accident, he said. A civil society group said after the accident that some 200 people were aboard the vessels and they were overloaded. Vice Prime Minister Jacquemain Shabani said in a statement on Sunday that bad weather had caused the accident. Reuters could not independently confirm details about the overloading of the vessels. Deadly shipwrecks are frequent in Congo, where infrastructure challenges and lax safety standards exacerbate risks for waterway passengers.
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Climate
- Associated Press
Congo death toll hits 77 after extreme weather brings floods and sinks boats, 107 remain missing
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Authorities in Congo said the death toll following devastating floods and separate boat accidents has reached 77, with more than 100 people missing. A total of 48 bodies have been recovered in the northwestern Equateur province where three boats sank on Lake Tumba during extreme weather last Wednesday, with 107 passengers remain missing, the Ministry of Interior said. Almost 50 people were rescued, it said. Separately, 29 people are confirmed to have died after heavy rains at the weekend triggered floods and landslides in the capital city Kinshasa, cutting off some parts of the city and submerging many houses, the ministry said in a statement late Sunday. Residents told how walls collapsed and houses were submerged following the rains in the capital. 'It was around 3 a.m. when we heard a loud noise. When we went outside, the neighbors' wall had collapsed. The man and his wife both died,' resident Clovis Kalenga had said. Rebuilding work was underway in Kinshasa to repair damaged structures in affected communes, including a bridge, local media reports said. The ministry said a government delegation has been deployed to help coordinate humanitarian response in the Equateur province. The government was also working on strengthening its disaster prevention plan and resilience efforts in communities, it said.
News24
13-06-2025
- Climate
- News24
DRC: dozens dead as boat capsizes in Lake Tumba
A boat sinking in the Democratic Republic of Congo's northwestern Equateur Province left at least 30 people dead, local media reported on Thursday. Dozens are missing and a rescue operation is under way. Territorial administrator Justin Mputu told local media that the boat was carrying goods and people on Lake Tumba in Bikoro territory. Congo's rivers and lakes are a major means of transport for its more than 100 million people. In remote areas where infrastructure is poor or non-existent, traveling by boat across lakes is a regular occurrence. But deadly boat accidents have become common, often due to poor vessel maintenance, overloading of the vessels and extreme weather. READ | African Union warns against territorial break-up of DR Congo Bikoro Lake Commissioner Gabriel Ifulu Bongolomba told Reuters that rescue efforts were ongoing, but he added that responders faced challenges due to a lack of essential equipment, including life jackets and boats. 'We're forced to requisition private boats for this type of operation, but sometimes we don't even have enough fuel to carry out our work properly,' Bongolomba said Overcrowding reported The causes of the boat sinking are not clear, but signs point to weather being a factor, as well as the vessel being overloaded. Mputu said the capsizing was believed to have been caused by turbulent waters due to heavy rain. Charly Kasereka/The Provincial Coordination of the Panel of Civil Society Experts of Equateur said in a statement that two boats had departed Bikoro Port on the eastern shores of the lake on Wednesday afternoon despite 'clear overloading and unstable weather conditions'. 'Witnesses reported that the overcrowding was so severe that passengers were being turned away from the canoes,' said Akula Dieu, a member of the group.
Washington Post
12-06-2025
- Climate
- Washington Post
30 killed in a boat sinking in northwestern Congo, residents say
KINSHASA, Congo — At least 30 passengers including several students were killed when a boat sank in Congo's northwestern Equateur province amid extreme weather, residents and local media said Thursday. A search was underway for many people still missing. The boat was conveying villagers and goods along Lake Tumba in Bikoro territory when it sank late Wednesday, territorial administrator Justin Mputu told local media. Thirty bodies had been recovered, and more people are missing he said.
Reuters
12-06-2025
- Climate
- Reuters
At least 32 dead, dozens missing after boats capsize in Congo's Lake Tumba
KINSHASA, June 12 (Reuters) - At least 32 people were killed and dozens remain missing in Democratic Republic of Congo's Equateur Province after two boats carrying more than 100 passengers capsized in Lake Tumba, local authorities told Reuters on Thursday. The boats departed Bikoro port on the eastern shores of the lake on Wednesday afternoon despite "clear overloading and unstable weather conditions," according to a statement from a provincial civil society group, the Provincial Coordination of the Panel of Civil Society Experts of Equateur. "Witnesses reported that the overcrowding was so severe that passengers were being turned away from the canoes," said Akula Dieu, a member of the civil society group. Reuters could not confirm the weather conditions or details about possible overloading. A state official, Bikoro Lake Commissioner Gabriel Ifulu Bongolomba, told Reuters that a family had requisitioned two boats to transport people for a funeral from an unauthorised embarkation point. Heavy waves caused by the rains struck the vessels, causing them to capsize, he said. Rescue efforts were ongoing, he added, but said responders faced challenges due to a lack of essential equipment, including life jackets and boats. "We're forced to requisition private boats for this type of operation, but sometimes we don't even have enough fuel to carry out our work properly," Bongolomba said. Deadly boat accidents are common in Congolese waters, where vessels are frequently overloaded, posing significant safety risks.
