68 die in two boat accidents on Lake Kivu

At least 68 people were killed in Lake Kivu when two large motorised wooden canoes capsized on Sunday during violent winds, officials in South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) told IRIN.

"Eighteen new bodies were recovered on Tuesday morning, adding to 23 others found on Monday from the first boat," Pascal Bamporiki, the director of nursing at the main hospital in the town of Kalehe, said on Tuesday.

The other boat capsized at almost the same time, but near the village of Bushushu, north of Kalehe. Kalehe is roughly mid-way along the western shore of Lake Kivu. So far, all 68 bodies have been recovered. But Bamporiki said the number of dead was likely to rise.

"[At least] 180 people are known to have embarked on the boats, not counting children," he said. "Only 45 are known to have gotten out alive."

The vice-governor of South Kivu, Didas Kaningini, told IRIN that 27 bodies were recovered at Bushushu when the same storm hit the area.

"The boats were the first to have tried to travel between [the towns of] Bukavu and Goma since recent [political] events," Kaningini said.

He was referring to fighting in June between loyalists and dissident forces from within the Congolese army.

Theories on the cause of the accidents vary. "Besides the storm, the boats were overloaded," Kaningini said.

Other reports say at least one of the vessels was not seaworthy.