At least 41 dead after Lake Tanganyika boat capsizes

At least 41 people died after a boat carrying passengers and cargo capsized on Lake Tanganyika near Mapera in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, provincial officials said. Forty-nine people were rescued, and search operations for other passengers were still under way when the incident was reported. The vessel was traveling from Kigoma, Tanzania, to Kalemie, in Congo’s Tanganyika province, when it capsized. Norris Mulongoyi, the provincial transport minister for Tanganyika province, said the boat carried about 100 people as well as cargo. The passenger estimate is approximate, and the reported deaths and rescues do not account for everyone included in that estimate. No final count of people missing was provided. The cause of the capsizing had not been determined. A survivor told a broadcaster that passengers awoke at about 1 a.m. and found the boat tilting to one side. That account does not establish what caused the vessel to capsize. Searches for remaining passengers were ongoing, according to Mulongoyi. The reported death toll could change as the search proceeds, but the information available does not establish a final number of dead, rescued or missing.