Congo River Tragedy: Hundreds Dead and Missing in Dual Boat Accidents
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INET99.ID - The Democratic Republic of Congo is once again in mourning after two separate boat accidents claimed more than 200 lives and left over 100 others missing. Both tragedies occurred within just two days in Équateur Province, northwestern Congo.
The first incident happened on Wednesday night, September 11, 2025, around 10 p.m. local time. A motorized boat named Bokenda capsized at the confluence of the Nsolo and Maringa rivers. The vessel was carrying hundreds of passengers, many of them students.
Officials and local residents reported that most of the victims were students aged 12 to 15. They were traveling to the town of Basankusu to begin the new school year after spending holidays in their home villages.
As a result of the accident, more than 100 people, including dozens of schoolchildren, were confirmed dead. A few passengers were rescued, but their number was far outweighed by those who perished.
According to Bienvenu Liloku, Commissioner of River Navigation in Lokolela, the boat was overloaded and collided with three motorized canoes due to poor visibility at night. The situation was compounded by the absence of an official passenger list.
“It is difficult to provide an accurate figure because many bodies have yet to be recovered,” said Liloku. Search and recovery operations are still being carried out by locals and civil society groups.
A similar tragedy occurred the following day, Thursday night, September 12, 2025. A vessel named HB Bonga carrying around 500 passengers caught fire and capsized in the Congo River near Lukolela.
In the second accident, at least 107 people were killed, 209 were rescued, and 146 others remained missing. The figures were reported by Congo’s Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and cited in local media.
River transport in Congo has long been a serious concern. With limited access to reliable road and air infrastructure, waterways remain the main mode of travel. However, poor regulation and lack of oversight have made accidents all too common.
Most vessels in Congo’s rivers are wooden barges that move slowly and take days or even weeks to reach their destinations. On these long journeys, passengers often cook meals on board, a practice that heightens the risk of fire, especially on overcrowded boats.
Congo’s President Félix Tshisekedi was on a state visit to Kazakhstan when the tragedies struck. Upon his return on Friday, September 13, 2025, he convened a cabinet meeting but has yet to make a public statement on the dual disasters.
Authorities have so far refrained from confirming the official death toll, citing ongoing investigations and data collection. Nevertheless, civil society groups reported much higher figures than the preliminary government estimates.
The tragedies on the Congo River are not unprecedented. At least six similar accidents have occurred in northwestern Congo this year alone. Four major disasters in Équateur Province since January have claimed over 500 lives.
Chronic problems such as weak enforcement, unseaworthy vessels, and habitual overloading continue to plague river transport. These long-standing issues put countless lives at risk on every journey.
The two most recent accidents once again highlight the fragile state of Congo’s river transport system. Without urgent reforms and stricter safety regulations, thousands of people who rely on these waterways daily will remain in danger.***
