A boat overloaded with passengers capsized on a river in central Congo on Tuesday, resulting in the deaths of at least 25 people, including children, and leaving dozens more missing. Local officials and residents confirmed the tragic incident, which occurred just hours after the vessel set off from the town of Inongo, located northeast of the capital, Kinshasa.
The boat, which was believed to be carrying over 100 people, was also laden with goods. It capsized a few hundred meters into its journey along the Fimi River, adding to a growing list of similar disasters in the country. The vessel’s passengers, many of whom rely on the limited and often unsafe river transport, faced deadly conditions due to severe overloading.
David Kalemba, Inongo’s river commissioner, reported that the boat was overloaded, with passengers even traveling on the roof, making it more vulnerable to capsizing. “At least 25 bodies have been recovered so far, though we are still searching for the missing,” Kalemba said, as efforts continue to locate the dozens who remain unaccounted for.
Local resident Alex Mbumba confirmed that children were among the dead, but said it was difficult to give an accurate toll due to the large number of passengers aboard. The boat’s tragic sinking is the fourth such accident this year in the Maï-Ndombe province, a region surrounded by rivers and heavily dependent on boat travel.
Despite repeated warnings from the Congolese government about the dangers of overloading vessels, safety regulations continue to be widely ignored. Many remote areas of Congo lack adequate road infrastructure, leaving river transport as the primary means of travel for locals. In October, a similar disaster occurred in the east of the country, claiming at least 78 lives, while 80 people died in June near Kinshasa.
The latest accident has sparked urgent calls from residents and advocacy groups for the government to equip the region with life-saving flotation devices and enforce stronger safety measures. “The government must take immediate action to improve safety on our rivers,” Mbumba stressed, highlighting the dangerous navigation conditions that continue to plague the region’s waterways.
As search and recovery operations continue, the government faces mounting pressure to ensure that such tragedies are prevented in the future, with many calling for the provision of life jackets and more rigorous enforcement of transportation safety regulations.