Two boats collided on the Congo River in western Congo, with local officials giving conflicting explanations for the deaths.
Alexis Mampa, the mayor of Maluku, said there were no fatalities in Monday’s crash east of Congo’s capital Kinshasa. Another local official, Eliezer Ntambwe, initially said dozens of people had been killed, but later said the death toll was unknown.
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It is unclear what caused the boat carrying people and goods to collide.
The national flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is seen in Beijing on May 26, 2023. (Photo provided by Wang Xin/VCG)
Terrified residents watched from the riverbank. Video seen by The Associated Press shows people thrashing in the water and a small boat making its way toward them.
Fatal boating accidents are common in Congo because crews often overload small wooden vessels. Rivers are the key to transportation in the vast Central African country, which has the least developed road infrastructure in the world. Most river traffic is operated by small, informal operators, and authorities have warned that compliance with maritime regulations is inadequate.
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In January, most of the 50 passengers on board a wooden boat that capsized in a lake in eastern Congo were presumed dead.
