More than 40 people remain missing after a passenger boat sank on Lake Tanganyika in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, provincial authorities said on Friday.
The vessel went down on Thursday with 84 people on board, including 12 crew members, according to Norris Mulongoy, transport minister for Tanganyika province.
By Friday, rescuers had confirmed 43 survivors, including three children and four Tanzanian nationals, leaving 41 people unaccounted for.
Authorities have not disclosed what caused the sinking, and no information was immediately available on possible fatalities.
Boats are a vital means of transport in many rural parts of DR Congo, where limited road infrastructure forces communities to rely heavily on waterways.
However, ageing vessels and poor safety conditions have contributed to frequent accidents on the country’s rivers and lakes.
