Sat Apr 19 01:28:15 UTC 2025: ## Congo River Boat Fire Kills at Least 143
**KINSHASA, DRC (April 19, 2025)** – At least 143 people are dead and dozens more missing after a fuel-laden boat caught fire and capsized on the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The tragedy occurred near Mbandaka, capital of Equateur Province, on Tuesday, April 15, 2025.
Hundreds of passengers were aboard the overcrowded wooden vessel when a cooking fire ignited an onboard fuel supply, according to Josephine-Pacifique Lokumu, head of a delegation of national deputies from the region. The resulting explosion caused widespread casualties, with many children and women among the victims.
Recovery efforts have found 143 bodies, with several charred. Joseph Lokondo, a local civil society leader, reported that some victims drowned. While some survivors received hospital treatment, numerous families remain unaware of their loved ones’ fate.
The lack of passenger lists and the reliance on river transport due to poor road infrastructure in the vast DRC often hinder rescue operations and increase the severity of such accidents. This incident follows a string of similar tragedies on the Congo River and Lake Kivu, highlighting the ongoing dangers of insufficiently regulated and overcrowded water transport in the region.
First Piper 