At least 126 people died when a ferry sank in Lake Kivu in Congo, according to authorities.
The German News Agency (DPA) reported that the ferry was initially carrying more than 450 passengers, but official Finan Rogosha Descartes later indicated that the number of passengers may have reached 700. So far, 45 people have been rescued, while 126 bodies were recovered by evening, and about 500 others are believed to have died.
Descartes reported that the ferry was loaded with a large number of passengers, which led to it capsizing and sinking quickly before it could reach the city of Goma in the east of the country.
The ferry had set sail from Minova in South Kivu province.
It is worth noting that sea transport via lakes and rivers is the only option for a large number of citizens in the Congo due to the poor state of the road network. In a similar incident, 60 people were killed in Nigeria after a ferry sank in the Niger River recently.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency
