The tragedies unfolded on Wednesday and Thursday in Equateur province, just 150km apart, shocking families and triggering nationwide mourning.
According to officials, one boat carrying nearly 500 passengers caught fire and capsized along the Congo River in Lukolela territory on Thursday evening. The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs confirmed that 107 people died in this single disaster.
Authorities and rescue workers continue to search the river for dozens of missing passengers. Survivors described scenes of chaos as flames spread rapidly across the vessel before it overturned, trapping many inside.
The boat with nearly 500 passengers caught fire and capsized on Thursday evening along the Congo River in the province’s Lukolela territory, killing 107 people, DRC’s Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs said in a report.
According to Reuters, a whaleboat caught fire in the west of the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to an internal government report seen by Reuters on Friday.
The boat, a narrow, double-ended open vessel caught fire on the Congo River near Malange village in Lukolela territory on Thursday evening, leaving 146 people missing, the Ministry of Social Affairs said in the memo.
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Rescue teams recovered 209 survivors, several with injuries, after the vessel burned and drifted downstream, the note said. The fire also destroyed cargo on board and ignited 15 riverside homes.
Search operations continued on Friday with naval personnel and community volunteers combing the banks while authorities pledged medical care for the injured, assistance to bereaved families and the repatriation of survivors to their places of origin and destination.
River transport is a lifeline in Congo s vast rainforest regions, where old, wooden vessels are the main form of transport between villages, but accidents are frequent due to overloading, poor maintenance and the use of riverboats at night.
The accident comes days after at least 86 people died in a separate shipwreck on Wednesday night at the confluence of the Nsolo and Great Maringa rivers in Basankusu territory, northeast of Malange, after a river boat sank on Wednesday, Congo, state media reported Thursday adding that local residents pulled eight survivors from the water.
"The motorised canoe … sank due to blatant overloading and nighttime navigation, which is formally prohibited," civil society activist Akula Mboyo said in a statement.
Rescue operations are often hampered by limited resources and the remote locations of accident.
Reuters could not independently verify the death toll in Basankusu and officials were not immediately reachable for comment.
