78 People Die, Several Missing After Ship With 278 Passengers Sinks in Lake Kivu

• Operations to rescue victims and retrieve bodies continue following the tragedy that occurred in Lake Kivu on Thursday, October 3
• A boat with 278 people sank in the water on Thursday morning; at least 78 people were killed
• First responders at the scene said the vessel had overloaded and succumbed to the waves during the trip.

A boat accident in Lake Kivu, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), killed at least 78 people on Thursday morning, October 3.

What caused the shipwreck in Lake Kivu?

The vessel had 278 people on board and was heading to Goma from Minova.

The video of the apprentice shared on social networks showed when the vessel was hit by strong waves and lost direction and then overturned and killed its passengers.

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It was approaching the beach of Goma; horrified spectators could be heard screaming.

Some of the victims were seen trying to swim to escape the danger.

Authorities said efforts to recover the bodies were ongoing and the operation would take several days.

Government agencies and humanitarian organizations led the operations, collaborating with citizens.

“It will take at least three days to get the exact number because not all the bodies have been recovered yet,” Governor Jean Jacques Purisi of the South Kivu region was quoted by the BBC as saying.

Survivors said the lake was calm for most of the trip until the storm came suddenly.

This happened a few days after a boat carrying at least 30 decomposed bodies was found floating off the coast of Senegal.

How a boat with a dead body was discovered in Senegal

Curious fishermen spotted the ship and immediately contacted the authorities.

The Senegalese Navy sent a patrol boat that towed the ill-fated ship to the outer harbor of the Port of Dakar.

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A plane carrying doctors, firefighters and other relevant personnel was later sent to the scene.

The teams immediately began rescue, identification and evacuation operations, which were hampered by the badly decomposed bodies.

In their initial investigation, the police confirmed that the missing were migrants sailing to the Spanish Canary Islands, perhaps in search of a better life; most were young.

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