However, according to the manifesto circulating on social networks, which the lake commissioner confirms as authentic, 25 passengers had boarded the boat departing toward Kalemie, including 16 Congolese and 9 foreigners of which 4 were Chinese, 4 Tanzanians and one Kenyan, including some crew members.

According to port sources, the vessel sank between Bilila Island and the locality of Kabimba in the territory of Kalemie, noting that the boat, coming from Kigoma in Tanzania, was heading to Kalemie and was loaded with goods. For now, in the town of Kabimba, about 60 Km from Kalemie, fishermen have managed to rescue 15 passengers and bring them back to the port in the evening. They specified that searches continue for the other victims.

In the meantime, a delegation led by the provincial minister of the Interior for Tanganyika has already gone to the scene of the tragedy to grasp firsthand the extent of this disaster and to direct the search operations. However, other sources on the ground report that there might have been a total of about forty passengers, some of whom were not listed on the manifest. They say that a Chinese national survivor was rescued by fishermen from the village of Rwakwe in the north of Kalemie City, and he was taken to Kabimba.

Gisèle Mbuyi