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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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German Christmas Market Attacker Asked about Whereabouts of Saudi Ambassador

People mourn at the mourning site in front of St. John's Church following a vehicle-ramming attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, 22 December 2024. EPA/FILIP SINGER
People mourn at the mourning site in front of St. John's Church following a vehicle-ramming attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, 22 December 2024. EPA/FILIP SINGER
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German Christmas Market Attacker Asked about Whereabouts of Saudi Ambassador

People mourn at the mourning site in front of St. John's Church following a vehicle-ramming attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, 22 December 2024. EPA/FILIP SINGER
People mourn at the mourning site in front of St. John's Church following a vehicle-ramming attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, 22 December 2024. EPA/FILIP SINGER

The perpetrator who drove a car at speed through a Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg, Germany, has reportedly offered a reward in return for information about the whereabouts of the Saudi ambassador to Germany, a source told Independent Arabia on Sunday.
The source said that the attacker, Taleb al-Abd al-Mohsen, had offered a SAR 10,000 (equivalent to 2662 euros) in reward for anyone who provides information pertaining to the residence of the Saudi ambassador to Germany, and the timing of his presence.
The Saudi embassy had informed the German authorities about the threat, said the source but the latter “did not take the matter seriously”, he stated.
On Friday, Taleb al-Abd al-Mohsen drove a car at speed through a Christmas market in Germany, killing four women ranging in age from 45 to 75, as well as a 9-year-old boy and injuring 200, including 41 in serious condition.
The police apprehended the perpetrator at the scene of the attack. He is a doctor who had fled Saudi Arabia, where he was wanted on criminal charges. He had been residing in Germany for two decades.
Saudi Arabia condemned the ramming attack and expressed solidarity with the people of Germany.
A Saudi source told Reuters that Saudi Arabia had warned the German authorities about the suspect who appears to have been an active user of the social media platform X, sharing extremist tweets and retweets daily.
In 2023 and 2024, Germany received warnings about the man from Saudi authorities, a German source affirmed.