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Scores Die when Boat with 278 Passengers Capsized in Eastern Congo

Medical staff and members of security forces load the dead body of a victim of a capsized boat in an ambulance in Goma, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo, 03 October 2024. EPA/MARIE JEANNE MUNYERENKANA
Medical staff and members of security forces load the dead body of a victim of a capsized boat in an ambulance in Goma, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo, 03 October 2024. EPA/MARIE JEANNE MUNYERENKANA
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Scores Die when Boat with 278 Passengers Capsized in Eastern Congo

Medical staff and members of security forces load the dead body of a victim of a capsized boat in an ambulance in Goma, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo, 03 October 2024. EPA/MARIE JEANNE MUNYERENKANA
Medical staff and members of security forces load the dead body of a victim of a capsized boat in an ambulance in Goma, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo, 03 October 2024. EPA/MARIE JEANNE MUNYERENKANA

A Congolese governor said Thursday that at least 78 people died when an overcrowded boat with 278 passengers capsized on Lake Kivu in eastern Congo on Thursday.

Jean-Jacques Purusi, governor of the South Kivu province, spoke to The Associated Press over the phone hours after the tragedy. Her said the death toll was provisional and that the number of fatalities could rise.

The boat, overloaded with passengers, sank while trying to dock just meters away from the port of Kituku, according to witnesses. It was going from Minova in South Kivu province to Goma, in North Kivu province.

Congolese officials have often warned against overloading and vowed to punish those violating safety measures for water transportation. But in remote areas where most passengers come from, many are unable to afford public transport for the few available roads.

In June, an overloaded boat sank near the capital of Kinshasa and 80 passengers lost their lives. In January, 22 people died on Lake Maî-Ndombe and in April 2023, six were killed and 64 went missing on Lake Kivu.

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Iran Rejects G7 Statement on Iran's Attack against Israel as 'Biased'

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
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Iran Rejects G7 Statement on Iran's Attack against Israel as 'Biased'

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

Iran views the Group of Seven (G7) condemnation of its attack on Israel as "biased and irresponsible", Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Thursday.
Iran launched more than 180 missiles at Israel on Tuesday in what it said was retaliation for the killings of militant leaders and aggression in Gaza and Lebanon.
Abbas Nilforoushan, a deputy commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, was also killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut a week ago that killed Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, Reuters reported.
In a statement on Wednesday, Group of Seven (G7) leaders condemned Tehran's attack, expressing "strong concern" over the crisis in the Middle East, but said a diplomatic solution was still viable and a region-wide conflict was in no one's interest.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson "pointed to the definite responsibility of G7 countries, especially the United States, in increasing insecurity and instability in West Asia due to their armament, (and) financial and political support" of Israel, a ministry statement said.
The ministry also said it had summoned the German and Austrian ambassadors on Thursday after Berlin and Vienna summoned Iran's representatives to condemn Tehran's missile attack on Israel.
"We believe that if European states had taken effective and practical measures on time, including cutting off financial and weapons support, they would have cut short the killing and genocidal machine of the Zionist regime (Israel) by today and we would not have witnessed such tragedies," the ministry said.