People search for victims after a shipwreck in Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic, April 21, 2024. (Str/Xinhua)
The death toll from a shipwreck that occurred Friday in the Central African Republic (CAR) has risen to 62, locals and authorities said on Sunday.
YAOUNDE, April 22 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a shipwreck that occurred Friday in the Central African Republic (CAR) has risen to 62, locals and authorities said on Sunday.
According to Maick Azoumale, a sand digger on river Mpoko where the tragedy occurred, four more bodies, of three women and a child, were located overnight into Sunday.
People salvage a boat in Bangui, the Central African Republic, April 19, 2024.(Str/Xinhua)
CAR Director General of Civil Protection Thomas Dimasse told a local media outlet on Saturday that the bodies of 58 victims were recovered, but the total number of people underwater was not known.
He told Xinhua that more people remained missing. "About 50 relatives of the victims continue to put pressure in the hope of finding the bodies of their loved ones."
"We are currently working with volunteers, especially sand diggers who are helping us find the bodies of the missing," Dimasse said.
The tragedy occurred on Friday when the overloaded boat, with more than 300 aboard, sank in River Mpoko in the CAR capital, Bangui.
The passengers were heading to the village of Mokelo, in the commune of Bimbo, Ombella-Mpoko prefecture, for the burial of a group leader, according to witnesses. ■
