Over 100 killed as canoe capsizes in northwestern DR Congo
Local news outlets reported a death toll of 86, including 60 students. The DRC government has not yet released an official statement on the accident.
More than 100 people were killed when a motorised canoe capsized late Wednesday in the northwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo, local sources said Friday.
The accident occurred at the confluence of the Nsolo and Maringa rivers in Equateur province.
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In a statement issued Friday, Dieu Merci Akula Mboyo, an official with the Panel of Experts of Equateur, a local civil society platform that monitors river transport safety and humanitarian issues, said preliminary findings from the site indicated that over 100 people were killed, including about 60 students.
"The motorised canoe named Bokenda sank due to clear overloading and nighttime navigation, which is formally prohibited by the authorities," Mboyo said, adding that only eight people were rescued, thanks to the help of local residents.
Local news outlets reported a death toll of 86, including 60 students. The DRC government has not yet released an official statement on the accident.
Shipwrecks are common in the DRC, particularly on the Congo River, where overloading and poorly maintained vessels frequently lead to accidents. In June 2025, at least 48 people died and 107 went missing after boats capsized on Lake Tumba, also in Equateur province.
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