(MENAFN) A tragic maritime disaster in the Democratic Republic of Congo has claimed 148 lives, an authority disclosed on Friday.

The incident happened on Tuesday night in Mbandaka, located in Equateur province.

Senator Jean-Paul Boketsu Bofili from Equateur province reported that approximately 500 individuals were aboard the wooden motorboat when it overturned following a fire outbreak.

Among the deceased were young children, he informed the press, noting that hundreds remain missing, while over 150 passengers were rescued, many with burn injuries of different severities.

He mentioned that several burned remains were retrieved from the destroyed vessel.
Based on news coverage, the fire started after a woman was cooking food on the vessel.

Authorities had previously stated that 50 people had lost their lives.

The HB Kokolo boat was a regular transport link between the Bolenge port and Ngbondo village, a central market that serves multiple districts, as per media sources.

In Congo, river transport is frequently used due to inaccessible roadways.

This catastrophe occurred only days after another overloaded boat sank on the same river, leading to more than 50 fatalities.

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