Overview
- Two motorized vessels collided near Ngombe-Lukolela on Sunday evening, and provincial officials say at least 30 people drowned while dozens remain unaccounted for.
- Reporting based on provincial sources shows 22 bodies recovered and buried, about 59 people rescued and the sunken passenger boat remaining submerged at roughly 12 meters as searches continue.
- The crash involved a metal commercial vessel named 'Dieu se cache' from Kinshasa and a wooden passenger boat called 'HB Super Victoire' returning from Businga/Ubangi.
- Authorities have not confirmed a single cause but cited night navigation and overcrowding as likely factors, and a security witness and a separate source said the passenger boat was heavily overloaded, with reports of about 163 people aboard.
- River travel is the main way people and goods move in western DRC, and weak regulation, poor maintenance and night-time travel have produced a string of deadly river incidents, including a July sinking in Kasai that killed about 20 people.