150 people feared missing after passenger boat sinks in Congo

AKIPRESS.COM - As many as 150 people are missing after a passenger boat sank on Lake Kivu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, President Felix Tshisekedi said, CNN reports.
The disaster happened Monday evening, but details of the incident were only just emerging Wednesday.
President Tshisekedi said he was "very saddened" by the news and extended his condolences to the families of the missing.
"I am very saddened by the shipwreck of a pirogue on (Monday) April 15 on Lake Kivu. The provisional toll is 150 people missing," Tshisekedi said on his official Twitter account.
Early investigations into the disaster revealed that passengers were not wearing life jackets and a passenger manifest was not available to account for the total number of people on board the boat, Muhini said.
More than 100 people were declared missing after two boats collided on the Congo River in 2015, according to the World Health Organization.
The agency said passenger boats often sink in the country due to the age of the vessels and their failure to follow rules of navigation.