Kinshasa, Congo (AP) – A boat has overturned after detecting fire in the northwest of the Congo, leaving at least 50 people dead and missing from Hutededs, a local official said on Wednesday.
The boxes were saved after the accident in the Congo River on Tuesday night, many of them with bad burns. The search for the missing was underway on Wednesday with rescue teams supported by the Red Cross and the provincial authorities.
The motorized wooden boat with about 400 passengers caught fire near the city of Mandaka, to the Compétent Loyoko, the river commissioner, to Associated Press. The boat, HB Kongolo, had left the port of Matankumu for the territory of Bolomba.
Around 100 survivors were tasks of an improvised refuge in the City of Mandaka. Those with burns injuries were tasks for local hospitals.
The incident advanced while a woman cooked on board, Loyoko said. Several passengers, including women and children, died after jumping into the water without being able to swim.
Mortal boat accidents are common in the country of Central Africa, where trips are often blamed late at night and overpopulated ships. The authorities have fought to enforce maritime regulations.
The Congo rivers are an important transport meaans for their more than 100 million people, as special in remote areas where infrastructure is poor or non -existent.
Hundreds have been killed in boat accidents in recent years as more people leave the few roads available for wooden vessels full of passengers and their goods.