At least 193 dead in two separate boat sinkings in Congo
At least 193 people have died in two separate boat sinkings in the northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Congolese authorities and state media say several others are missing. Al Jazeera. The accidents occurred on Wednesday and Thursday, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) apart, in the country’s Equateur province. A report from Congo’s humanitarian affairs ministry said a boat carrying about 500 passengers set off on Thursday evening. It later caught fire and sank. The accident occurred on a whaling boat near the village of Malange in the Lukolela area of the province. 107 people have been killed and 209 have been rescued. A statement from Congo’s social welfare ministry said 146 people were still missing in the incident. A day earlier, another separate accident occurred. State media said at least 86 people, most of them students, were killed when a motorboat sank in the country’s Basankusu region. The cause of the incident was not immediately known. It was unclear whether rescue operations were underway as of Friday evening.
