STORY: Death toll rises to 47 in DR Congo shipwreck: minister
DATELINE: Oct. 17, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:24
LOCATION: Kinshasa
CATEGORY: OTHERS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the press conference in Kinshasa
2. SOUNDBITE (French): MARC EKILA, Minister of Transports, DRC
3. various of boats sailing on the Congo River (file images)

STORYLINE:

The death toll has risen to 47 since a boat sank last Friday in the province of Equateur, northwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Minister of Transport Marc Ekila announced late Monday.
   
The shipwreck, which occurred last Friday night on the Congo River, killed at least 47 people and an unknown number remains missing, said the minister, specifying that the tragedy was due to "overloading."

SOUNDBITE (French): MARC EKILA, Minister of Transports, DRC
"After exchanging with the staff on the ground, up to 2 p.m. today, 47 bodies have been found. Many people are still missing. Unfortunately, as the boat was in an irregular situation, we could not get the manifest that determines the exact number of people on board. But the accident is due to, as you could have already known and imagined, the overloading."

In a video statement on last Sunday by Taylor Nganzi, deputy governor of the province, 28 dead bodies were found, and 261 people were reported missing by relatives of the victims.

The deputy governor who visited the scene of the accident spoke of a "serious situation, and that responsibilities will be strictly established without any complacency towards the culprits."

According to the provincial authorities, the boat left the port of Mbandaka, the province's port city on the Congo River, late Friday for Bolomba, a territory located more than 300 km from Mbandaka.

"We have asked the provincial authorities to set up a commission of inquiry," said the minister.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Kinshasa.
(XHTV)