Death toll rises to 87 after ferry sinks in eastern DR Congo: official

GOMA, DR Congo -- At least 87 people were killed Thursday after a ferry sank on Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to a report by local authorities seen by Xinhua.

The ferry, coming from the town of Minova in the South Kivu province, capsized near the port of Kituku, on the outskirts of Goma, capital of the North Kivu province.

In the report addressed to the central government in Kinshasa, the provincial government also spoke of 78 people still missing. The 87 bodies recovered were transported to the morgue of the general hospital in Goma and nine other survivors were taken to hospital.

The number of passengers aboard the boat remains unknown. Local sources, however, told Xinhua a "significant overload" of the boat.

The boat failed to withstand a violent wave before it capsized about 700 m away from the port, said staff of the Kituku port.

Till late Thursday, the population still gathered at the port of Kituku with anxiety and the hope of finding the bodies of their loved ones, observed Xinhua.

The roads between Goma and Minova have been cut off for months due to hostilities between armed groups and the DRC military. Cases of boat accidents are frequent on Lake Kivu due to strong winds and overloading.