DRC boat accident

Riots broke out in the town of Isangi in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday (25.12.2014), after residents heard of the accident. The rioters set fire to the offices of the river police and the naval force of the town. "They're youngsters angered by the loss of their relatives, they say [the authorities] are not rigorous enough about making sure safety conditions are complied with," said government spokesman Monulphe Bosso.

According to government reports, the boat allegedly hit a rock and sank on Tuesday. 30 people are confirmed dead, 105 survived and on Friday the search for more bodies was still ongoing. "At its departure, in Kisangani, the boat embarked 39 people according to the register handed over to the authorities. Perhaps they were trying to cheat river surveillance services ... as they took more passengers on board along the way," Bosso said.

It is common practice to overload the boats in order to avoid taxes and the responsible authorities can easily be bribed, says DW's correspondent in DRC, Patrice Chitera. Additionally there are are no proper controls of boat maintenance. The accident is one in a row of boat accidents that have occurred in the region in recent months. At least 129 people died earlier in December when an overcrowded boat sank on Lake Tanganyika. In March a shipwreck on Lake Albert left 210 dead and many more unaccounted for.

Investigation promised

Transportation in DRC has been relatively stable over the last two years, explains Chitera, but lately the number of accidents has risen. "The transportation minister we have at the moment, Justin Kalumba Mwana Ngongo, had been really tough and was making sure that everything works." After the boat accident on Lake Tanganyika, several local heads of the transport authorities were suspended.

A delegation from the provincial government headed to Isangi on Friday and said that they will investigate the cause of the accident. Local residents however expect the authorities to take measures to stop further accidents. According to DW's correspondent, the heads of civil society groups called on people to stop rioting, saying that the damage caused could impact service deliveries in the region. They convinced people to go to the office of the regional administrator in order to present their grievances. He in turn promised them that he would pass their complaints on to the delegation.

The DRC is not the only country in the region which has experienced such accidents. Poor maintenance and overcrowding have also caused shipping disasters in neighboring Tanzania and Kenya. The road and rail infrastructure in the DRC is in very poor shape and Congo River is a major transport route for local residents.