The death toll from a riverboat accident in western Democratic Republic of Congo has reached at least 29, with 128 survivors identified, while many remain missing, authorities confirmed Thursday.
Rescue efforts have continued since Sunday.
The boat, carrying between 250 to 300 passengers, overturned on Sunday night after hitting submerged tree trunks in a river in Kutu territory.
Overloading and night navigation against regulations are believed to be key factors behind the tragedy.
Kutu administrator Jacques Nzeza reported that the 29 confirmed deaths include 15 women and one child.
Additionally, a local civil society head, Fidele Lizoringo, mentioned that fishermen spotted four more floating bodies but couldn’t retrieve them.
Lizoringo noted that 152 survivors have been registered.
However, the exact number of missing remains uncertain since some survivors fled before they were counted, complicating efforts to determine the total number of passengers.
River travel and fatal boat accidents are frequent in the Congo, where limited paved roads force reliance on overloaded vessels across vast, forested regions.
