April 18, 2023 – A boat carrying 32 passengers capsized in Lake Mweru in the Nchelenge District of Luapula Province, resulting in the deaths of two persons, including a coxswain, and the disappearance of twelve others. 18 people were able to swim to safety.
Soon after the tragedy, the deceased, a Coxswaine named John Kamobole, 45, of the Nchelenge District, and Mutumbu Mwembo, between 6 and 12 months old, were retrieved.
The tragedy happened today, April 18, 2023, between 6:00 and 8:00 am in Lake Mweru waters as the boat was traveling from Kilwa Island on the Zambian side to the Kashobwe region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
According to preliminary police investigations, the majority of the passengers were Congolese nationals traveling on a boat owned by a Zambian. Additional examinations have shown that the disaster was caused by large waves on the lake.
The search and rescue effort to find the missing people is still in progress.
