At least 58 people died and others were missing on Friday when an overloaded barge sank on the Mpoko River in Bangui, Central African Republic, while they were on their way to a funeral, the director general of protection announced on Saturday. civil.
“We were able to extract 58 bodies, lifeless. We do not yet know the total number of people who are underwater,”
declared Thomas Djimasse, whose teams arrived on site 40 minutes after the tragedy, to Radio Guira. According to witnesses and videos circulating on social networks, the boat, also called a whaleboat, was carrying more than 300 people, well beyond its capacity, and was just leaving its starting point when it capsized.