The incident killed at least 30 people. Dozens more are missing and a rescue operation is underway.
Area manager Justin Mputu said the boat carrying goods and people on Lake Tumba was in the Bikoro region (Congo).
According to Member of Bikoro Lake, Mr. Gabriel Ifulu Bongolomba, rescue efforts are still ongoing, but he added that rescuers face challenges due to a lack of essential equipment, including life jackets and boats.
"We are forced to deploy private boats for this type of activity, but sometimes we don't even have enough fuel to do our job properly," said Mr. Bongolomba.
The exact cause of the boat sinking is still unclear, but signs show that the weather is a factor, as well as the overloaded boat. Mr Mputu said the boat capsize was believed to be due to the highly rough waters due to heavy rain.
The Provincial Coordinating Committee of the Social-Civil Experts Council Equateur said that both boats left the Bikoro Port on the eastern shore of the lake on the afternoon of June 11 (local time) while there was "clear overload and unstable weather conditions".
A member of the coordination team revealed that many passengers at that time refused to board the boat because they saw the situation of carrying overloaded goods as serious.
