Democratic Ship with more than 450 passengers sinks in Congo

SDA

3.10.2024 - 20:40

People gather in the port of Goma after a ferry with hundreds of people on board capsized on arrival. Photo: Moses Sawasawa/AP/dpa
People gather in the port of Goma after a ferry with hundreds of people on board capsized on arrival. Photo: Moses Sawasawa/AP/dpa
Keystone

A ship with more than 450 passengers on board has sunk shortly before docking in the city of Goma on Lake Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Rescue work is underway, but there are no official figures on casualties so far.

The ship had come from Minova in the neighboring province of South Kivu to the city near the border with Rwanda. The road network in Africa's second largest country is poorly developed. Boats and passenger ferries are therefore the only means of transportation for many people on the Great Lakes and rivers.

Serious boat accidents are not uncommon in Africa. The ships are often old, overloaded and in a poor technical condition. Safety regulations such as life jackets are also often not observed. As recently as Tuesday night, at least 60 people died when a ship sank on the Niger River in northern Nigeria. According to the authorities, around 300 people were on board, 150 of whom were considered missing.