Footage Of Boat Capsizing In Congo Falsely Viral As Goa

A video showing an overcrowded streamer boat capsizing on a lake in Goma, eastern Congo is being falsely shared on social media posts as an incident that happened in Goa.

BOOM found the tragic incident seen in the viral video happened in eastern Congo where a boat carrying 278 people capsized on Lake Kivu on October 3, claiming 78 lives.

The 53-second video shows an overcrowded boat capsizing in the water. The video was shared on Facebook with a caption, “Very sad news Goa accident today 23 bdies recovered 40 people rescued ang 64 missing great of the boat owners in overloading over confidence of travellers to very sad”

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Fact Check

BOOM did a keyword search on Google and found an X post by Goa Police clarifying that the viral video is not from Goa but from Congo, Africa. Goa Police posted with the caption states, “Official Clarification: A video circulating on social media claims a boat capsized near Goa’s shores. This is false. The incident occurred in Goma, Congo, Africa. Please refrain from sharing unverified news. — Goa Police”.

We also found the same viral video posted on October 4 by the Associated Press (AP) on YouTube with the headline, “Video shows moment boat sinks in eastern Congo, killing at least 78”.

The news report by Associated Press states, the boat carrying 278 passengers was en route to Goma, North Kivu province. At Least 78 people died and many more are still missing.

According to a news report by The Guardian, the accident happened when the boat was about to dock at the port of Kituku, outside Goma. The same incident was also reported by Reuters.

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