Twenty football players of AC Virgin KA in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), drowned Sunday in the sinking of three boats on the Luapula River in Zambia, said Tuesday Mushanga Aaron an official of Katanga province.
According to local reports 20 people were killed returning from Zambia, where they had been playing a game with a Zambian team.
“Their boat capsized in the middle of Luapula River after being hit by the wave,” said Deputy District Commissioner Luapula, Mushanga.
This information was confirmed Tuesday by the Zambian Agnec information, Zanis.
“The boats carried a total of over 100 people, but 80 of them were rescued by the crew of the boat,” said the source.
The boat came from the Congolese side of the river, which marks the border between the two countries.
“At present many bodies have not been recovered. It will take some days to find more bodies,” said an official of the Red Cross Luapula.
This shipwreck highlights the need for security on the river and lake navigation in the DRC. Since the beginning of 2012, two boats capsized on Lake Tanganyika killing over 100 people.
Officials said the Waterways Authority (RVF) in the DRC, the high rate of sinking in the river, lakes and rivers in the DRC is due to overloading among other challenges.
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