Tragic boat accident in Congo claims 25 lives, several football players among victims

A fatal boat accident in Congo's southwest has killed at least 25 people, including a number of football players. The accident took place on Sunday evening when a boat overturned in the Kwa River in Mai-Ndombe Province. The accident was confirmed by provincial spokesman Alexis Maputu, citing poor visibility as a likely causal factor in the accident as it happened at night.

Football players among the victims

Reportedly, passengers on board were going back to their residence in Mushie after they played a football match when the tragic incident happened. Local officials such as administrator Renecal Kwatiba reported that over 30 people were safely evacuated from the sea. Others are, however, missing, and thus there is still ongoing a search-and-rescue operation.

Routine boat accidents in the country

The Democratic Republic of Congo is typically plagued by fatal boat accidents owing to various reasons, such as overloading, night travel, and weak enforcement of safety measures. Boats are overloaded multiple times and operate over capacity, thereby causing accidents a routine and sad occurrence. The authorities remain very much strained in enforcing rigorous safety protocols to offset such accidents.

Search operations ongoing

Rescue operations are ongoing in a bid to find the missing passengers, with family members waiting in anticipation of news on their loved ones. The new tragedy is indicating the need for tighter safety regulations and adherence to the country's waters in an attempt to stop such accidents from happening in the future.

Expect more updates as the authorities carry out investigations into the cause of the accident.