Hundreds feared dead in Congo lake

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Title – Hundreds feared dead in Congo lake
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 30th January 2008

At this time visiting the Democratic Republic of Congo as an independent traveller may not be a wise choice and certainly not to be undertaken without seeking specialist advice for that country. But this story goes some way once again to demonstrating the dangers in some local transport options.

Local people often use the cheapest transport available and although cheap doesn’t always mean bad, it can often be that way in the developing world. Cutting corners allows the companies running these services to make a profit even when the service itself may seem almost ridiculously cheap by our western standards. In the UK a 10 minute cab ride would set you back £10 in the Democratic Republic of Congo this will probably get you half way across this enormous country.

The problem is that the corners cut often mean that safety standards that may have been low to start with, are reduced still further. Maintenance is ignored unless it affects the running of the service, capacities either do not exist or are flouted as every last paying passenger is welcomed and then squeezed on and safety equipment such as life jackets and life rafts are either wholly inadequate, insufficient in number or completely absent.

Add to these problems the fact that when something does go wrong, there is simply not the infrastructure to provide adequate rescue or medical facilities and the need to choose your Transport Options carefully and to have the courage to change them or cancel them if you are in anyway unhappy takes on a greater significance.

Some simple rules will allow the independent traveller where ever they are in the world to assess the risks of their transport options and understand the real dangers that exist on a daily basis in many parts of the world.

Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com