On 10 June 2024, the

ship A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally disti ...

HB ''la Saintet'' sank in the Kwa River, a tributary of the

Congo River The Congo River, formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world list of rivers by discharge, by discharge volume, following the Amazon Ri ...

in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

, killing at least 86 people including 21 children.

Background

Due to the fact that there are few paved roads in the Congo, rivers and lakes are often used to transport goods and people. Boat overcrowding and poor safety measures on ships have long been significant problems in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Not all passengers are able to swim and they are rarely provided with lifevests. A ferry capsized on the Kasai River in 2010, killing between 80 and 140 people. Another overcrowded ship was overturned in Mbandaka and killed at least 52 in October 2023. More recently, a boat capsized on

Lake Kivu Lake Kivu is one of the African Great Lakes. It lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and is in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift. Lake Kivu empties into the Ruzizi River, which ...

in the eastern part of the country in January 2024, killing most of its 50 passengers.

Events

On 10 June 2024 at around 23:00 CAT ( UTC +2:00), an overloaded ship heading from

Mushie Mushie is a town in Mai-Ndombe province, Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring ...

to the town of Lebida experienced

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...

failure, and crashed either into the shore or into a second boat and sank in the Kasai River. The incident occurred in Mai-Ndombe Province, about from

. Out of 271 people on the ship, 86 died, including 21 children. Over 100 people were rescued, and according to a Mushi District commissioner, as many as 185 were able to swim to the shore. According to one official, the boat was carrying bags of cement in addition to the passengers, and was overloaded. President

Félix Tshisekedi Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo (; born 13 June 1963) is a Congolese politician who has served as the fifth president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, since 2019. He was the leader of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (Demo ...

said that victims will receive assistance and an investigation would be conducted into the cause of the disaster.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kwa River disaster, 2024 2024 disasters in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Transport disasters in 2024 2024 disaster Transport disasters in the Democratic Republic of the Congo June 2024 in Africa Mai-Ndombe Province Shipwrecks of Africa Shipwrecks in rivers

Background

Events

See also

References