April 19th
The Ubangi River near Bangui, the capital of Central Africa
A ship capsized
Director-General of Civil Defence of the Central African Republic
Thomas Guimas 21st
Confirmed to Xinhua News Agency reporters
The number of fatalities in the shipwreck
It has risen to 62 people
The reporter saw at the scene that some relatives of the missing passengers gathered on the bank of the river where the incident occurred, hoping to find the whereabouts of their relatives.
Maurice Capeia, a family member of the victims, told AFP that on the day of the incident, he escaped by following him in a canoe because there was no space on board, but his sister was killed.
Francis Maca, a driver involved in the rescue effort, said he had taken more than 10 people to a community hospital. Adrian Mossamo, a fisherman, said that while waiting for rescue, at least 20 bodies had been found, "what a terrible day".
Previously, Guimas said in an interview with local media on the 20th that "it is not clear how many bodies are still underwater." Guimas said the death toll could rise further as search and rescue efforts unfold.
Speaking on national radio, the Minister of Information and Media of the Central African Republic and Government Spokesman, Maxime Balalou, said that the Government expressed its deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and wished the injured a speedy recovery. The Government will provide special support to the families of the victims and will launch an investigation as soon as possible to determine the cause of the accident and those responsible. He also reminded the population to pay attention to safety and strictly follow traffic and passenger transport regulations.
It was reported that it was a wooden boat 20 meters long and 3 meters wide that capsized and sank, carrying more than 300 people at the time of the accident. The ship was preparing to leave for Makolo, about 45 kilometres from Bangui, and most of the passengers were supposed to attend a local funeral. The vessel capsized shortly after leaving the pier.
Water traffic is very common in the Central African Republic, but boats are mostly wooden boats, and shipwrecks occur from time to time due to inadequate care and maintenance, according to the German news agency dpa.
-END-
This article is edited by small door ears
Source: CCTV News Client, Xinhua News Agency (Reporter: Wang Ze, Liu Jiang)
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