A commercial boat traveling along the River Nile capsized in South Sudan’s Jonglei State on Sunday.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Wednesday, Elijah Thongbor, the secretary-general of the Jonglei Boats’ Trade Union said the boat destined for Fangak State from Bor town was carrying relief food when it sunk in River Nile on Sunday evening.
He pointed out that all foods in the boat were lost, but that no one was harmed.
“The boat was hired by WFP to transport relief foods to Fangak. But at a place called Chier near Akuak, it broke into pieces and sunk. Nothing was rescued from the boat," he said.
Thongbor said the boat was overloaded causing the accident. “The capacity of the boat is 80 tons but it was loaded with 90 tons of relief food," he added.
He urged boat owners in Jonglei to avoid overloading and regularly service their boats to reduce boat accidents along the River Nile.