At least 107 killed in Congo as whaleboat sinks in river

At least 107 folks have died after a whaleboat caught fireplace within the west of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in accordance with an inner authorities report seen by Reuters on Friday (September 12, 2025).

The boat, a slender, double-ended open vessel caught fireplace on the Congo river close to Malange village in Lukolela territory on Thursday (September 11, 2025) night, leaving 146 folks lacking, the Ministry of Social Affairs mentioned within the memo.

Rescue groups recovered 209 survivors, a number of with accidents, after the vessel burned and drifted downstream, the be aware mentioned. The fireplace additionally destroyed cargo on board and ignited 15 riverside properties.

Search operations continued on Friday (September 12, 2025) with naval personnel and neighborhood volunteers combing the banks whereas authorities pledged medical take care of the injured, help to bereaved households and the repatriation of survivors to their locations of origin and vacation spot.

River transport is a lifeline in Congo’s huge rainforest areas, the place previous, picket vessels are the primary type of transport between villages, however accidents are frequent resulting from overloading, poor upkeep and the usage of riverboats at evening.

The accident comes days after not less than 86 folks died in a separate boat capsize on Wednesday (September 10, 2025) evening on the confluence of the Nsolo and Great Maringa rivers in Basankusu territory, northeast of Malange, after a river boat sank on Wednesday (September 10, 2025), Congo state media reported on Thursday (September 11, 2025) including that native residents pulled eight survivors from the water.

“The motorised canoe… sank resulting from blatant overloading and nighttime navigation, which is formally prohibited,” civil society activist Akula Mboyo mentioned in a press release.

Rescue operations are sometimes hampered by restricted assets and the distant areas of accident.