KIGALI, Rwanda
At least 30 people, most of them teachers, died while several went missing after a boat capsized on a river in western Democratic Republic of Congo’s Kwilu province, an official said Wednesday.
The accident occurred on Kwango River over the weekend, but authorities only confirmed it to the media on Wednesday.
The boat was carrying roughly 100 passengers from the villages of Kingukukapayi, Kusu and Fambondo, in Bagata territory, according to local lawmaker Gary Sakata.
“The deceased include 20 teachers who were heading to Bandundu city to draw their monthly salary, while other travelers were heading for shopping ahead of the end-of-year festivities,” the lawmaker told Top Congo radio.
Sakata criticized the “dysfunctional” civil servants’ pay system in rural areas, saying: “We cannot lose 20 teachers, the equivalent of two schools, because they went to collect their salaries more than 100 kilometers (over 62 miles) away.” Thirty passengers were rescued.
The boat which also carried 700 bags of cement and cassava is said to have hit a stationary submerged object, causing it to sink.
Water transport is common in Congo due to mostly impassable roads, and accidents are frequent.
