78 drown in Congo boat capsize

At least 78 people drowned when a boat carrying 278 passengers capsized in Lake Kivu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday, a provincial governor said.

It was not clear how many people were still missing. South Kivu province Governor Jean Jacques Purisi told Reuters it would take at least three days to get the exact numbers. The governor of neighbouring North Kivu province said 58 people survived the accident and that 28 people were confirmed dead.

The boat capsized around 700 metres from port and the causes of the accident are being investigated, Purisi said in a statement. Video footage shared widely online showed a packed multi-deck vessel listing sideways in calm waters before it overturned and pitched flailing passengers into the lake.

At a local hospital, one survivor said conditions were calm when the crowded boat overturned. As others drowned around him, he struggled to stay afloat until he was rescued by Congolese troops.