Four bodies recovered, 50 feared dead as ferry sinks in eastern
( 2001-05-04 10:41 ) (7 )

A ferry moored near the lakeside town of Goma in eastern Congo capsized and sank when passengers rushed aboard, killing four people and leaving as many as 50 others trapped and feared dead, local leaders said.

Hundreds of relatives and onlookers converged on Goma's port late Thursday for news about those feared trapped inside the MV Musaka, which sank in Lake Kivu because of overloading, said Moise Nyarugabo, deputy leader of the rebel Rally for Congolese Democracy, which controls the area.

The ferry capsized Thursday afternoon when dozens of passengers and accompanying relatives rushed onto the ferry to take shelter from a sudden downpour, he said by telephone from the scene.

``The weight of luggage already onboard and that of passengers and their relatives who got onboard suddenly, and without authority, could have exceeded the capacity of the vessel, causing it to sink fast,'' Nyarugabo told The Associated Press. ``People jumped off the boat and others swam to safety or were rescued before the vessel sunk completely.''

But the victims were not quick enough to get off and many remain trapped inside the vessel, which can carry between 100-150 passengers, said Jean Pierre Lola, an official from the rebel group that controls most of eastern Congo.

``We believe there may be at least 50 people trapped inside the vessel,'' said Nyarugabo. ``It has been impossible to mount an operation to recover the bodies because we lack the equipment necessary for the work.''

Rescue workers were busy trying to moor the sunken ferry, to prevent it from being dragged into deeper water by currents sweeping the lake. However, attempts to recover more bodies were suspended for the night and were to resume Friday morning, officials said.

``Relatives are crying here, they are in their hundreds and they are desperate for news on whether their loved ones are dead or not,'' said Nyarugabo.

The ferry was scheduled to go from the former resort town of Goma, ruined by 2 1/2 years of civil war, southwest to Bukavu.

Ferries are the most common and cheapest means of transportation between the two lakeside towns in a country whose infrastructure has been destroyed by a succession of armed rebellions and neglect by corrupt and greedy leaders.