A high-voltage cable fell into a flooded market, killing 26 people

Last updated on February 4th, 2022 at 03:36 pm

A high-voltage wire fell into a water-filled canal at a market in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo‘s capital, killing twenty-six people, according to local police. “After the morning rain, the cable snapped, and the live end dropped into a water-filled ditch. As of now, 26 individuals have died as a result of electrocution, “the Kinshasa province government spokesman, Charles Mbutamuntu, told AFP.

The ditch cuts across the famed Matadi-Kibala food market on the city’s western outskirts, a vast metropolis with a population of over 10 million people. Traders and customers, as well as several passers-by, were among those slain. The victims have been sent to the morgue, and an investigation has been launched to determine who is to blame, “Mbutamuntu expressed his thoughts.

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Videos circulating on social media showed bodies slumped over market stalls, their legs up to the knees in filthy water. Every time it rains, the water doesn’t drain away; it overflows onto the market because the ditch is clogged, and all the traders have to work with their feet in the water, explained Christelle Zindo. She slammed the authorities’ “complete apathy” towards the situation.

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s electricity infrastructure is frequently neglected. As a result of poorly maintained colonial-era drainage systems in Kinshasa, which are exposed to tropical downpours, various districts are prone to floods.