Beni
– Twelve fishermen drowned when their overloaded wooden canoe sank in Lake
Albert in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a local official
said on Thursday.
Five people survived the
accident, which took place on Wednesday night at a time when small boats are
banned from using the country’s waterways.
Adel Alingi, the administrator of
the town of Djugu in Ituri province, blamed the sinking on the poor state of
the boat and the fact it was overloaded.
Boat capsizes are a frequent
occurrence in the rivers and lakes of the DRC, a vast central African nation of
2.3 million square kilometres.
Most of the country lacks roads,
leaving boats as the prime form of transport for people and goods. Vessels tend
to be overloaded and poorly maintained, and few Congolese learn how to swim.
ALSO READ | At least 26 feared dead in DRC boat accident
Although small boats are
prohibited from using lakes and rivers at night, the rules are often violated
by those who want to avoid administrative hassles during the day, according to
a representative for fishermen.
ALSO READ | 50 dead in boat accident in northwest DRC
President Felix Tshisekedi
announced the compulsory wearing of life jackets by passengers after a
shipwreck on Lake Kivu just one year ago, but this ruling too is often ignored.
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