At least 26 people have been killed after two boats collided on the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with dozens of others still missing following the weekend accident, authorities said Tuesday.
The collision occurred on Saturday night in Lukolela territory, in western Equateur province, according to Crispin Mputu, the provincial interior minister.
Mputu told reporters in the provincial capital, Mbandaka, that the confirmed death toll had reached 26, while approximately 82 people remained missing. Nearly 60 others were rescued following the accident.
Authorities have continued search and rescue operations as emergency teams and local residents work to locate people believed to have been swept into the river or trapped following the collision.
“The search to rescue the missing people is ongoing,” Mputu said, as efforts continued to determine the full scale of the disaster.
The exact circumstances surrounding the collision remained unclear as of Tuesday. Officials had yet to establish what caused the two vessels to collide or determine whether factors such as poor visibility, overcrowding, weather conditions, navigation problems or other circumstances contributed to the accident.
The Congo River is one of the most important transportation routes in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It serves as a vital means of travel for numerous communities, particularly in areas where road infrastructure is limited or difficult to access.
For many residents living along the river, boats provide an essential link between communities, markets and major towns. However, river transportation can also expose passengers to significant risks, particularly when vessels are overcrowded or operating without adequate safety equipment.
The latest accident has renewed concerns over safety on the Democratic Republic of Congo’s waterways, where boat accidents have previously resulted in significant loss of life.
Authorities are expected to continue rescue operations while investigations seek to establish how the collision occurred. The number of casualties could potentially rise if more victims are discovered during the search.
Officials have not yet provided further details about the identities of those killed or missing, nor have they released information about the number of passengers each boat was carrying at the time of the accident.
The incident has caused concern among communities along the Congo River, where water transport remains a critical part of everyday life.
As rescue teams continue their search, families of passengers are awaiting information about their relatives, while authorities work to account for those who were on board the two boats.
The Congo River stretches across a vast area of the Democratic Republic of Congo and remains one of the country's principal transportation corridors. Its importance to communities in remote areas means that thousands of people rely on river vessels to move between settlements.
The Saturday night collision is therefore likely to draw renewed attention to the safety standards governing passenger boats and the need for effective emergency response systems along the country's waterways.
For now, authorities are focused on locating the missing passengers and providing assistance to those who survived, while investigations continue into the cause of one of the latest deadly boat accidents to hit the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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