Deaths of 58 People Drowned on Their Way to a Funeral (Video)

At least 58 people died and others are considered missing on Saturday after a crowded ferry sank in Lake Mboko in Bangui while transporting them to a funeral, according to the director-general of civil protection on Saturday. Several dozen dead and injured in the capsizing of a barge on Friday in Bangui. The tragedy occurred on the Oubangui River. This vessel, carrying 250 people, was headed to a burial. Thomas Dimas, whose teams arrived at the scene about forty minutes after the incident, stated to a local radio, "58 bodies have been recovered. We do not know how many people are still deep in the water." Witnesses reported that the ferry was carrying more than 300 people, which greatly exceeded its capacity, and it had just set sail when it overturned.