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At least 78 people have died after a ferry capsized on Lake Kivu, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, just a few hundred metres from its destination.<\/p>\n
The boat was travelling from the town of Minova in South Kivu and sank as it was arriving on Goma’s shore on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n
A video circulating online shows the boat tilting to one side and then sinking.<\/p>\n
There were 278 passengers onboard, according to a regional governor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“It’ll take at least three days to get the exact numbers, because not all the bodies have been found yet,” Governor Jean Jacques Purisi told Reuters news agency.<\/p>\n
A local activist, Aaron Ashuza, who was at the scene, told the BBC he saw bodies being pulled out of the river and said the injured had been taken to hospital. <\/p>\n
At least two children died after they were taken to hospital after the accident, according to AFP. <\/p>\n
Speaking from his hospital bed, 51-year-old survivor Alfani Buroko Byamungu, told Reuters news agency that conditions on the water seemed “calm”. <\/p>\n
He added: “I saw people sinking, many went under. I saw women and children sinking in the water, and I myself was on the verge of drowning, but God helped me.”<\/p>\n
Bahati Selemani, a dock worker who took part in the rescue effort, described what happened.<\/p>\n
“We saw the boat start to capsize. We noticed that the boat was very overloaded and there were also strong waves,” he told AP news agency.<\/p>\n
“After that, the boat started to capsize little by little. Those who were upstairs started to throw themselves into the lake, and the boat capsized directly into the lake.”<\/p>\n
Such accidents are common in DR Congo, where boats are frequently overcrowded with passengers who are rarely given safety jackets and often cannot swim.<\/p>\n
Rescue operations are made difficult as some ships rarely have passenger manifests.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n