Boat capsizes on a lake in eastern Congo, killing at least 50 people, witnesses say

GOMA, Congo (AP) — A boat carrying scores of passengers capsized on Lake Kivu in eastern Congo on Thursday, killing at least 50 people, witnesses told The Associated Press.

It was not immediately clear exactly how many people were on board or how many perished but witnesses said they saw rescue services recover at least 50 bodies from the water. They said 10 people survived and were taken to the local hospital.

The boat, overloaded with passengers, sank while trying to dock just meters (yards) away from the port of Kituku, the witnesses said. It was going from Minova in South Kivu province to Goma, in North Kivu province.

Local authorities said that the rescue efforts continued and the death toll remained unknown for the moment. In February, the majority of the 50 passengers aboard a wooden boat were presumed dead after the vessel capsized on Lake Kivu.

“This boat was carrying about a hundred people when it had the capacity for about thirty passengers,” the governor of the province of South Kivu Jean-Jacques Purusi told a local radio station following the accident.

It was the latest deadly boat accident in the central African country, where overcrowding on vessels is often to blame. Maritime regulations also are often not followed.

Congolese officials have often warned against overloading and vowed to punish those violating safety measures for water transportation. But in remote areas where most passengers come from, many are unable to afford public transport for the few available roads.

In June, an overloaded boat sank near the capital of Kinshasa and 80 passengers lost their lives. In January, 22 people died on Lake Maî-Ndombe and in April 2023, six were killed and 64 went missing on Lake Kivu.

Witnesses said the boat that capsized on Thursday was visibly overcrowded.

“I was at the port of Kituku when I saw the boat arriving from Minova, full of passengers,” Francine Munyi told the AP. “It started to lose its balance and sank into the lake. Some people threw themselves into the water.”

“Many died, and few were saved," she added. "I couldn’t help them because I don’t know how to swim.”

The victims’ families and Goma residents gathered at the port of Kituku, accusing authorities of negligence in the face of growing insecurity in the region.

Since the fighting between the armed forces and the M23 rebels made the road between the cities of Goma and Minova impassable, forcing the closure of the passage to trucks transporting food, many traders have resorted to maritime transport on Lake Kivu. It's an alternative considered safer than road traffic, which is threatened by insecurity.

But according to Elia Asumani, a shipping agent who works on this line, the situation has become dangerous:

“We are afraid," he told the AP. "This shipwreck was predictable.”

Bienfait Sematumba, 27, said he lost four family members.

“They are all dead. I am alone now,” he said, sobbing. “If the authorities had ended the war, this shipwreck would never have happened.”

The survivors, about 10 of them, were taken to Kyeshero hospital for treatment. One of them, Neema Chimanga, said she was still in shock.

“We saw the boat start to fill with water halfway," she recounted to the AP. “The door of the boat opened, and we tried to close it. But the water was already coming in, and the boat tilted.”

“I threw myself into the water and started swimming,” she said. "I don’t know how I got out of the water.”

Kamale reported from Kinshasa, Congo.

Women grieve at the port of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, after a ferry carrying hundreds capsized on arrival Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

People gather at the port of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, after a ferry carrying hundreds capsized on arrival Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, killing scores. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

An ambulance carries victims away from the port of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, after a ferry carrying hundreds capsized on arrival Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

Onlookers gather at the port of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, after a ferry carrying hundreds capsized on arrival Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

An ambulance carries victims away from the port of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, after a ferry carrying hundreds capsized on arrival Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

People gather at the port of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, after a ferry carrying hundreds capsized on arrival Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, killing scores. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

An ambulance arrives at the port of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, after a ferry carrying hundreds capsized on arrival Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

People gather at the port of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, after a ferry carrying hundreds capsized on arrival Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting lower, as crude oil prices continue to climb. The S&P 500 was down 0.2% in early trading Thursday following a shaky run where worries about worsening tensions in the Middle East knocked the index off its record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 192 points, or 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite was off 0.2%. Oil prices rose about another 2% as the world continues to wait to see how Israel will respond to Iran’s missile attack from Tuesday. Treasury yields rose after a report suggested the number of layoffs across the country remain relatively low.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Wall Street tipped toward small losses early Thursday ahead of some labor market reports that will be closely analyzed by the Federal Reserve as it shifts its focus from inflation toward supporting the broader economy.

Futures for the S&P 500 were 0.1% lower before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2%.

The dominant question hanging over Wall Street has been whether the job market can keep holding up after the Federal Reserve earlier kept interest rates at a two-decade high. The Fed was trying to press the brakes hard enough on the economy to stamp out high inflation.

Stocks are near records in large part on the belief that the U.S. economy will continue to grow now that the Federal Reserve has begun cutting interest rates. The Fed last month lowered its main interest rate for the first time in more than four years and indicated more cuts will arrive through next year.

Coming later Thursday is the Labor Department's unemployment benefits report, which broadly represents the number of U.S. layoffs in a given week. Layoffs have remained historically low, though started ticking higher beginning in May.

Treasury yields rose after a report Wednesday by ADP Research indicated that hiring by U.S. employers outside the government may have been stronger last month than expected.

That could auger well for the government’s more comprehensive report on the U.S. job market due out Friday, the first since the Fed cut its benchmark lending rate by half a point last month.

Levi shares tumbled 12% in premarket trading after the maker of blue jeans came up short on sales projections and trimmed its fourth-quarter outlook. CEO Michelle Gass said the company was working to address areas of underperformance, including “strategic alternatives” for its Dockers brand.

In German at midday, Germany's DAX shed 0.3% while the CAC 40 in Paris gave up 0.5%. In London, the FTSE 100 gained 0.4%.

The U.S. dollar gained against the Japanese yen as officials indicated that conditions were not conducive for an interest rate hike.

That helped push Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index higher. It gained 2% to 38,552.06, while the dollar traded at 146.67 Japanese yen, up from 146.41 yen late Wednesday.

A weaker yen is an advantage for major export manufacturers like Toyota Motor Corp. and Sony Corp.

The dollar had been trading around 142 yen after the ruling Liberal Democrats chose Shigeru Ishiba to head the party and succeed Fumio Kishida as prime minister. Ishiba, who took office on Tuesday, had expressed support for the central bank's recent moves to raise its near-zero benchmark interest rate, which stands at around 0.25%. That led traders to bet that the yen would gain in value.

But after a meeting between Ishiba and Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda, both officials indicated that the central bank did not view further rate hikes as suitable for the economy at this time. That prompted a flurry of selling of yen, which benefits big export manufacturers.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.5% to 22,113.51 as investors sold shares to lock in profits after the benchmark roared 6.2% higher a day earlier on a wave of investor enthusiasm over recent announcements from Beijing about measures to rev up the slowing Chinese economy.

With Shanghai and other markets in China closed for a weeklong holiday, trading has crowded into Hong Kong. Markets in South Korea and Taiwan also were closed on Thursday. India's Sensex fell 2.1%.

Oil prices rose again as the world waited to see how Israel will respond to Tuesday’s missile attack from Iran.

U.S. benchmark crude oil gained $1.09 to $71.19 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, was up $1 to $74.90 per barrel.

Israel is not a major producer of oil, but Iran is, and a worry is that a broadening war could affect neighboring countries that are also integral to the flow of crude.

Also early Thursday, the euro fell to $1.1042 from $1.1047.

FILE - People pass the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 1, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

A person walks in front of the Tokyo Stock Exchange building Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

FILE - Signs marking the intersection of Broad and Walls Streets appear near the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 1, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person rides a bicycle in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person stands in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)