Congo boat was overloaded: Official

By PATRICE CITERA | AP

KINSHASA: A capsized boat that killed as many as 200 people was carrying four times as many people as the passenger list claimed, and boat operators bribed officials to allow them to overload the vessel, a Congolese official said investigators have found.

Kasai Occidental Province Deputy Governor Hubert Mbingho said Tuesday that at least 153 passengers were on the boat that capsized late Saturday on the Kasai River. But he said the passenger list only had 36 names.

"We are waiting for investigations to finish so that we can arrest and punish all officials who were in charge of checking the vessel safety condition," he said.

Two survivors said "hundreds" of people were aboard when the engine caught fire, leading the boat to capsize.

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