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10 dead in DR Congo river accident

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AFP
AFP
Agence France-Presse

TSHIKAPA: Ten bodies have been recovered from a river in central Democratic Republic of Congo after a boat capsized, the authorities in Kasai province said Tuesday.

The accident on Monday on the Lumbembe River “sadly cost the lives of 10 people and others (are) missing,” provincial governor Dieudonne Pieme told AFP.

“We hauled out 10 bodies that were floating in the river. The search is continuing (…) but given the water levels, there is no hope of finding survivors,” said Franck Mbuta, police chief in Nsumbula.

The overladen boat was carrying more than 20 people at the time, a local NGO official, Edmond Tshipamba, said.

The accident happened at Nsumbula, a town some 140 kilometres (90 miles) from the provincial capital Tshikapa. The Lumbembe river is a tributary of the Tshikapa Rver.

Capsizing vessels and loss of life are frequent occurrences in the rivers and lakes of the DRC, a vast central African nation of 2.3 million square kilometres (almost 900,000 square miles).

Most of the country lacks roads, leaving boats the prime form of transport for people and goods.

Vessels tend to be overloaded and poorly maintained, and few Congolese learn how to swim.

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