At least 58 people were killed when a lorry plunged into Lake Tanganyika in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a local non-governmental organisation said Thursday. The truck, which was on its way from Uvira to Baraka, lakeside towns in the Sud-Kivu province, had more than 60 people on board, as well as goods when it crashed late Wednesday, Evariste Mfume, the head of a local human rights organisation, told AFP.
No other sources could immediately be reached to confirm the accident. Mfume said that overloading of the lorry was one of the likely causes of the accident. Road accidents are frequent in the DR Congo because of careless driving and the terrible state of repair of many roads, which are frequently used by overloaded vehicles.