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- Authorities report that a wooden boat caught fire and sank in the Congo River.
- The incident occurred on Tuesday near the town of Mbandaka.
- The fire ignited while a woman was preparing food on board, according to officials.
Reports from local officials indicate that at least 148 bodies have been recovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo following a tragic incident in which a motorized wooden boat caught fire and capsized.
Authorities believe that hundreds of individuals remain unaccounted for after the vessel caught fire and overturned on Tuesday in the Congo River.
The boat was carrying approximately 500 passengers, including women and children, when it capsized in the northwestern region of the country.
Boat accidents are a frequent occurrence in Congo, where outdated wooden vessels serve as the primary means of transportation between villages and are often overloaded beyond their capacity.
Officials estimate that the number of individuals missing remains in the hundreds, a figure that surpasses earlier estimates of 50 fatalities.
The ill-fated boat, named HB Kongolo, experienced the fire incident near Mbandaka after departing from the port of Matankumu, headed for the Bolomba territory.
Approximately 100 survivors were relocated to a makeshift shelter at the local town hall, with those suffering from burn injuries receiving medical attention at nearby hospitals, as reported by Sky News.
The river commissioner, Compétent Loyoko, stated to the Associated Press that the fire broke out while a woman was cooking on the boat.
Several passengers, including women and children, lost their lives after jumping into the water, unable to swim, according to the report.
In 2024, at least 78 individuals drowned when a boat carrying 278 passengers capsized in Lake Kivu in eastern Congo. In a separate incident, at least 22 people died in December when a riverboat sank in western Congo.
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