On 29 July 2010, an overloaded passenger ferry capsized on the Kasai River in Bandundu province, east of Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
[1][3][4] The government stated that boat owners in the DRC were frequently negligent and that adherence to insurance rules and maintenance schedules was often lax.
[2][1][3] According to Agence France-Presse, boating accidents are made more likely by the poor state of the signage in navigable channels, the lack of signal lights on vessels and the inexperience of pilots.
Police initially attributed the cause of the capsize to rough weather, although the government also said that low water levels on the river due to the dry season may have been the cause, leading to a higher chance of boats snagging or hitting submerged sandbanks.
[1][3] The DRC Navy and local Red Cross personnel travelled to the scene of the accident to assist in the search for survivors and in collecting the dead.