KINSHASA, Congo A riverboat loaded with passengers and fuel drums caught fire and capsized in southern Congo, and 200 people were feared dead, a survivor said Sunday. A local official confirmed the boat had tipped but said the passenger manifest apparently vanished in the fire.
It would be the deadliest boat accident in the Central African nation this year, and among the worst in Africa this year.
Fabrice Muamba, who said he was on the boat when it caught fire Saturday night on the Kasai River, said he thought only 15 people were able to swim to safety. He said passengers began to jump overboard when the engine caught fire as it passed the remote village of Mbendayi, some 45 miles 70 kilometers from the town of Tshikapa, which is north of Congos border with Angola.
Boat owner Mwamba Mwati Nguma Leonard said a survivor and an employee called to tell him the boat caught fire when workers spilled fuel and ignited the engine.
"At the moment I am crying after learning my boat caught fire," Leonard said. "I was just told on phone that it was while seamen were putting fuel into the tank that an explosion occurred after the oil touched the vessels battery."
He said he has asked police to arrest the boats managers as he believes they employed unskilled workers.
But he said he had no further details because he was in Congos capital, Kinshasa, some 500 miles 800 kilometers from the scene, and because his employees on the scene did not answer his calls Sunday.
"Since I am far away in Kinshasa, I cannot confirm at the moment the exactly what happened," he said.
Leonard also confirmed Muambas account that the boat was carrying many drums full of fuel on its journey through Kasai Occidental Province. Leonard said the boat also was carrying sacks of maize. He said he did not know how many people were aboard.
Francois Madila, an official from the navigation department in the province, said police arrested two of the vessels sailors and are investigating the incident. Madila said the sailors have not said how many people were aboard and that the passenger list appeared to have disappeared in the fire.
The boats that traverse Congos rivers are often in poor repair and filled beyond capacity, with little regard for safety. The industry is not well-regulated and boat operators are known to fill boats to dangerous levels.
Other officials and witnesses in the remote area could not be reached for comment Sunday.
The incident is the deadliest of several boating incidents reported this year in Congo.
In July, officials said at least 80 people died when a boat ferrying about 200 passengers to Congos capital capsized after hitting a rock.
In May, dozens of people died when an overloaded canoe capsized on a river in eastern Congo. And last November, at least 90 people were killed after a logging boat sank on a lake in Congo. The timber-carrying vessel was not supposed to be carrying passengers.
Congo is a vast country of jungles and huge rivers in Central Africa with little more than 300 miles 480 kilometers of paved road. Many people prefer to take boats even if they do not know how to swim.
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