At least 30 people were killed after two motorised wooden boats collided on the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, local authorities said Monday. The accident occurred on Sunday evening near the Ngombe-Lukolela area in Equateur province. Dozens of people remain missing as rescue and search operations continue in the area.

Provincial Interior Minister Crispin Mputu said the cause of the collision was not immediately known. He said travelling by boat at night has contributed to numerous accidents in the region in the past. According to Mputu, all 30 people confirmed dead in the latest incident had been buried, while authorities continued efforts to locate other victims and possible survivors.

One of the boats was travelling from Ubangi in the northwest toward Kinshasa, while the other was heading from Kinshasa toward Lukolela, close to the location of the collision. A member of the security forces who witnessed the incident from the riverbank told the Associated Press that the boat returning from Ubangi was carrying a heavy load of goods when it collided with the vessel travelling from Kinshasa.

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The witness said many passengers were trapped after the collision and that the boat sank in the river. Rescue teams have continued searching the area for people who may still be missing. Authorities have not yet provided a complete account of the number of passengers aboard the two boats or the total number of people unaccounted for.

Boat accidents are frequent in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, particularly in remote areas where waterways are an important means of transportation. Nighttime travel, overcrowded vessels and weak safety standards have repeatedly been identified as factors in deadly incidents. Limited infrastructure and difficult access to remote river communities can also complicate rescue operations following accidents.

The latest tragedy follows another fatal boat accident in July involving students returning from state examinations. A wooden boat sank in Kasai province while entering the confluence of the Sankuru and Kasai rivers, killing at least 20 people. The repeated incidents have renewed attention on safety concerns surrounding river transportation in the country.

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