At least 78 people have died and dozens more are missing after a boat carrying 278 people capsized on Lake Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the governor of South Kivu province told Reuters news agency.

The overloaded ship had set sail from Minova (in South Kivu) with hundreds of passengers and goods, according to survivors’ accounts. Under unclear circumstances, it capsized shortly before reaching the port of Kituku in Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.

“Many people died, we don’t know exactly how many. There must have been over 500 people on board,” a 30-year-old woman who was rescued told AFP. Another survivor spoke of “at least 200 people on board».

“The boat capsized and suddenly we were all in the water“, says Teo Basimane, who is looking for his wife and their two-month-old baby, as well as three other relatives who were traveling with him.

In this large country in central Africa, barges plying rivers and lakes are often used to transport residents. But they often travel overloaded and consequently the account of shipwrecks is particularly heavy.