Bangui: At least 58 people died when a riverboat capsized in the Central African Republic’s capital, Bangui, too many people were present, the civil defense chief said on Saturday.
“We were able to remove 58 bodies,” Tomas Jimasse told Guira radio. “We don’t know the total number of people in the water.
According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people, some standing and others sitting on the wooden structure, when it capsized in the Mpoko River on Friday.
The ship was on its way to the village chief’s funeral in Makolo, 45km from Bangui, but ran into trouble shortly after leaving port.
Emergency services arrived 40 minutes after the accident.
The government did not respond on Saturday, but in a statement recorded on Friday and broadcast a day later, government spokesman Maxime Balalou said “at least 30 people died”.
The government expressed its condolences to the bereaved families and said an investigation would be launched and a support system would be set up for the victims’ families.
Morris Capenya, who accompanied the ship in a boat because there was no space on board, said his sister was the body that was recovered.
He was helped by fishermen and local residents. Meanwhile, a motorcycle taxi evacuated several victims.
Civil defense teams were on the scene Saturday helping desperate families and hired canoe operators to search for loved ones along the river, an AFP reporter said.
Several opposition parties expressed their solidarity with the family and called for national mourning.
The Central African Republic is ranked as the second most developed country in the world by the United Nations.
Civil war has gripped the former French colony since former president Francois Bozize was ousted from power by the Muslim-dominated Seleka coalition in 2013.
The conflict has escalated since 2018, but the country continues to face challenges for rebel groups or resources such as gold and diamonds.
French intervention and the deployment of UN peacekeepers paved the way for the election of President Faustin Archangel Touadera in 2016.
Two years later, Touadera brought in fighters from the Russian Wagner mercenary group to train his armed forces.
The country is still plagued by violence, both from rebel groups and because of its wealth, such as gold and diamonds.
In 2020, CAR brought more Russian operators as rebel groups advanced on the capital and held the siege of Bangui.
However, some areas of the country remain outside the government’s control.
58 die after boat capsizes in C.Africa: rescuers
