Six dead and 19 missing in Congo River barge sinking – report

At least six people died when a barge sank on the Congo River, authorities in DR Congo’s northeastern province of Tshopo said on Tuesday.

“A barge which was leaving Kisangani for Basoko sank on Friday evening. The toll today is six bodies which have been recovered, 237 survivors and 19 missing,” Tshopo’s vice governor, Maurice Abibu Sakapela, was quoted as saying.

Sakapela blamed “overloading and the poor state of the vessel” for the accident. Enditem