KINSHASA, Congo — A vessel traveling from Tanzania to the Democratic Republic of the Congo capsized on Lake Tanganyika on Thursday, resulting in the deaths of at least 41 people, according to local authorities.
According to Norris Mulongoyi, the provincial transport minister for Tanganyika, the boat was carrying approximately 100 passengers alongside cargo. Mulongoyi added that 49 individuals have been rescued, and authorities are currently searching for the remaining travelers.
“The boat departed from Kigoma, Tanzania, and was bound for Kalemie in Congo’s Tanganyika province when it capsized near the village of Mapera,” Mulongoyi stated to The Associated Press.
Lake Tanganyika remains the world’s largest freshwater lake and the second deepest, surpassed only by Lake Baikal.
The cause of Thursday’s tragedy remains unclear, though hundreds of people have lost their lives in boat-related disasters in Congo over recent years. Such vessels frequently operate in an overloaded condition and often lack adequate safety equipment, including life jackets.
Rivers serve as a primary mode of transportation for Congo’s population of over 100 million, particularly in remote regions where infrastructure is severely lacking or entirely absent.
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