Congo River collision: 22 bodies buried, Al Jazeera count reaches 30, hull still at 12 metres

At least 22 people are dead after two boats collided on the Congo River near Ngombe, in Lukolela territory in Equateur province, and a second count puts the toll at 30 or more. Crispin Mputu, the provincial interior minister, told Reuters the crash happened at about 2 a.m. local time on Saturday, which is 0100 GMT. He said 22 bodies had been recovered and buried, 59 people had been rescued, and other victims may have been buried elsewhere. A security source told Reuters the passenger boat had 163 people on board. The sunken hull was still 12 metres down on Monday evening, with recovery continuing.

Al Jazeera, citing Mputu through Agence Congolaise Presse, reported at least 30 dead and dozens missing, and placed the collision on Sunday evening near Ngombe-Lukolela. The two accounts do not agree on the hour or the day. They agree on the place, the minister, and the fact of a night collision between a metal boat out of Kinshasa and a wooden boat. The gap in the toll is the story's unresolved number: 22 buried in the Reuters interview, at least 30 in the agency report, and a passenger list of 163 against 59 known rescues.

The two boats

Mputu named them to the Congolese agency. The metal vessel was Dieu se cache, coming from Kinshasa. The wooden vessel was HB Super Victoire, coming from Businga in Mongala province. He told Reuters one boat was a commercial service between Kinshasa and Mbandaka and the other was a passenger boat from Mongala to the capital. The impact sank the passenger boat. He said almost all the passengers were trapped underwater. The cause is not established. Mputu noted that many river accidents happen because boats travel at night.

Twelve metres is deep for a local recovery with limited gear. Bodies already buried will not be re-examined. Mputu said some victims might have been buried away from the official count. That sentence is why the 22 figure is a floor. A family that recovered a relative and buried them in a riverside village does not appear in the minister's list.

Why the river is the road

In western Congo the river is the main route for people and goods. Towns sit on the water because the roads do not connect them for much of the year. Boats are often overloaded, poorly maintained, and short of life jackets. Night running is common because the trip from Kinshasa up toward Mbandaka takes days, and operators do not want to lose a tide or a market day. The same conditions produced earlier mass drownings on this stretch. Saturday's collision fits the pattern: two hulls, no agreed separation, a wooden boat that did not survive the impact.

The 163 figure, if the security source is right, means most of the passenger list is unaccounted for once 59 rescues and 22 confirmed dead are subtracted. That leaves more than 80 people neither rescued nor buried in the official tally. Some may be alive on the bank and uncounted. Some may be in the hull at 12 metres. Mputu did not give a missing total to Reuters. Al Jazeera's dozens missing is the only range on offer.

Equateur province has the legal lead. Kinshasa has not published a national toll. Until a diver's report or a passenger manifest appears, the verifiable facts are the place, the two names of the boats, the 12-metre depth, the 59 rescues, and a death count that official statements have already put at both 22 and at least 30.