At least 80 people have been killed after a boat sank in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the country’s president said.
The disaster occurred on Wednesday on the Kwa River, 70 km from the town of Mushie in Maï-Ndombe province, near the border with neighboring Congo-Brazzaville.
In a statement on social media, President Félix Tshisekedi said he was “devastated.”
The president said those affected would receive help and also ordered an investigation into its cause.
“The President of the Republic calls for an investigation into the true causes of this unfortunate incident, in order to prevent such a disaster from happening again in the future,” the presidency said on X, formerly Twitter.
Fatal boat accidents are common in DR Congo, where boats are often overcrowded with passengers who are rarely given safety vests and often cannot swim.
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