At least 78 dead and dozens missing after ferry disaster in DR Congo

Overcrowded boat on Lake Kivu capsizes as it was about to dock near Goma, with death toll likely to rise significantly.

At least 78 people have drowned and many more are missing after a boat belived to be carrying 278 passengers capsized on Thursday morning just a few hundred metres from the shore of Lake Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The accident happened just as the vessel, MV Merdy, was about to dock at the port of Kituku, just outside the city of Goma, after crossing the lake from the town of Minova.

Many watching the disaster unfold from the landing pier were waiting to meet friends and family onboard or were traders from the nearby market.

Reports say 278 people were onboard the boat, which was built to carry only 80 people, according to survivors who spoke to the Guardian.

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The governor of South Kivu province said the death toll was 78 so far and that 278 had been onboard. “It’ll take at least three days to get the exact numbers, because not all the bodies have been found yet,” Jean-Jacques Purisi told Reuters.

The route across Lake Kivu has become overcrowded and increasingly used because fighting in the region between government forces and the M23 rebels has made roads dangerous or impassable.

Between Goma and Minova, lorries transporting food and other supplies are being stopped or raided, forcing many traders to transport goods across Lake Kivu. The insecurity has also pushed the cost of road transport beyond most people’s reach.

Nuru Alpha, 27, lives in Goma. Twelve of his family members were onboard the boat; he had been awaiting their arrival for several days.

“On this ship, I had family members. Unfortunately, two of them died. Three are in hospital, and I haven’t heard from seven others so far,” he said.

“These people were like shields for us. They were our livelihoods and it’s quite a void we have left now,” he said.

“We came from Minova around 8am and when we wanted to get to the dock, the ship capsized. That’s when I swam until I miraculously reached the shore,” said a survivor, Emmanuelle Furaha, 17.

Shipwrecks have become increasingly common on Lake Kivu in recent years. In 2019, more than 150 people drowned when a wooden boat capsized on its way from Kalehe in South Kivu to Goma. The authorities said they were also investigating a boat capsizing last month on the River Kwango, which killed at least four people with more than 40 others missing.

The Congolese maritime authorities have ordered boats on Lake Kivu to carry lifejackets.

However, water safety rules were not being enforced, said Johnson Ishara, a Goma-based politician.

“What has just happened in Kituku is a scandal, and it shows that embarkation problems continue to be reported in Goma’s ports. All the users of these boats sailing on Lake Kivu have no technical controls,” he said.

“There were no lifejackets onboard the ship. I didn’t see anyone wearing a lifejacket. Maybe, if lifejackets were available, more would survive,” said Emmanuelle.

Adeline Bora, a 35-year-old trader from Kituku, lost her sister-in-law and aunt in the sinking.

“If all of us had taken the road to Minova, we wouldn’t be witnessing this disaster. Let the war end so that this road can be reopened. If it was the road, my beloveds wouldn’t have died,” she said.

Thomas Bakenga, administrator of the territory of Kalehe, where the boat originated, said there were more than 80 passengers on the boarding manifest and promised there would now be an investigation.

A source close to the Malawian army, which is in the DRC as part of a Southern African Development Community peacekeeping force and took part in the rescue operations, said 40 people had been rescued but that the death toll was expected to rise.