World's Most Dangerous Roads - The Democratic Republic of the Congo

[Music] [Applause] [Music] Mokomoko nervous god save us from accidents engine failure this might look like a mass exodus of refugees but in fact it's part of a regular ferry service between the villages along the river Congo he handled it all very well there's everything on the boat life bugs in the Congo we all help each other whereas misery you'll find your family and on the boat their accidents and death Aerosmith's overboard will be chopped up into little pieces by the propellers instant their 2000 passengers are jammed one on top of the other for the two-week long journey I have nothing up there more food all I have is the river water I'm fed up comes up to me I get off and head back the way I came along the banks of the Congo the Wagoneer fishermen risked their lives daily for the sake of a few fish god bless the river which feeds us and allows us to survive the river Congo is sacred [Music] for a man to have the force he needs to prove himself in the kimono ceremony a plane ticket cost six months salary so ever since the land root became impassable the river Congo has become the main thoroughfare between Kinshasa the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kisangani the country's third-largest City journeys from another age that meander 1,700 kilometers through the heart of Africa to all appearances this is a junkyard but it is in fact the Porta Kinshasa one of the biggest cities in Africa [Music] rice palm oil spices all is transported by human labor since the cranes have long since stopped working amidst the tangle of boats is that their money a freighter that also takes on passengers for whom there are no cabins on board the journey means finding a place where you can on the bridge everyone makes do and the bomani soon resembles a floating slump there are 800 onboard people off to visit their relatives attend a marriage or a funeral others dream of making their fortune and are heading for the diamond mines on the other side of the country but the notion of time in the congo is like nowhere else these passengers have been waiting in the scorching Sun for almost a month on board ship for its departure tired nerves frayed every day brings the hope the boat might lead and every day Prospera the ship's owner dashes those hopes he's scared the passengers might finally snap listen by the grace of God we can finally have up this evening you don't think I just leave you all in this fix you may be able to sleep at night but I can't I've even lost 10 kilos espares running out of excuses to keep the passengers off his back so he's been telling one lie after another he's told some of them they'll be leaving tonight others in the morning stay calm my brothers tomorrow as the big day yesterday we waited all day again to depart in the rain now we're really cross with you we've already been here ages and each time it's tomorrow tomorrow we'll leave but we're still here in the Congo there's no respect for the customers in developed countries the customers can yeah we'll get no respect the Congo is rotting away plagued by a rampant corruption that handicaps just about every facet of life in the country the bomani is stuck in Porter's Prospera fuses to give the fuel supplier the bribe he is demanding the results mysteriously is that no more fuel tankers have apparently been available for a few weeks if you give the money then everything will go quickly this is the Congo [Music] the rumblings of a revolt can be heard on board the bomani [Music] [Music] [Music] the latest is that the fuel will not be available until the following day or spare tries his best to quieten the angry crowd [Music] we've had enough we've suffered long enough I had a phone call from the people you bring the fuel and they said they had some problems with that tanker yesterday they didn't keep their promises so why should it be different today they had delays but the tanker will arrive let's get back on the ship and if we're still here tomorrow then we can really start an uprising okay without the passengers help things could have turned nasty for Prosperity caved in and paid the supply his bride he waits at the roadside for the tanker to show up look there's the vehicle mined out mined out what's your hands okay steady kid steady grab it properly eager to leave the passengers lend a hand with a fueling which involves 30 cans of petrol each with 200 liters were you captain rene - is impatient to leave his salary depends on it as he's paid by the trip he wants to slip the moorings as soon as possible the mechanic here and as he does at the start of each journey the captain doesn't forget to thank the captain in chief to take command of the ship in the name of Almighty Jesus I have destroyed the power of the devil and Satan I reject him in the name of Almighty Jesus and I take command of the ship in his name Lord Jesus I renounce the spirits of all accidents death and epidemics in the name of all-powerful Jesus are men that venom II can finally cast off any mechanic so the two engines have lain idle for several months [Music] anything goes in the port of Kinshasa and there are no rules and the verse boats weave in and out in total anarchy see the cable take it off and put it over there about ten other boats are circling close by the bay money no no no don't head that way [Music] [Music] the bomani is nearly 100 meters long so to help it maneuver the crew are using cables on both sides of the ship but the cable on this side they pull them felt steer the vessel port or starboard eight just one loop with the cable it's a highly risky maneuver for the passengers on the bridge the cables are so taut they are close to breaking point if a mooring rope snaps it could slice off your limbs we need to keep the passengers safe there's a violent movement it could knock them over just like that we have had injuries and even some people killed keep their memory a V but can that small boat to move on one month behind schedule that bomani finally sets off along the river to the passengers great relief as it leaves the port to Marge's come alongside the ship to form a water convoy all together 1,700 people are on board and the bomani has essentially become a floating town [Music] conditions on board a cramped the first arrivals have set up camp in the middle of the bridge almost first-class accommodation compared to the others who will have to remain seated for the next three weeks as there's no room even to stretch out were still summer perched precariously just inches from the edge of the deck [Music] after months without work and onus is on the boat with his wife and six kids having secured a new job and a new life as a mechanic in Kisangani the family has been lucky having been able to get a place in the middle of the deck this is the dining kitchen at night is the bedroom down there is where we do a bit of business selling a bit of everything in his shop he sells soap cakes salt which in turn allows him to purchase something that is much valued on board there's no drinking water here and it's for sale at 100 Congolese francs a litre if you drink the water from the river you might catch something we only use it for washing it's too unhealthy otherwise [Applause] there's no water or electricity on the bomani and each square inch of the ship is taking the uppers living quarters making it very difficult to move around on board the biggest problem is getting marks you need to be an acrobat to get through thoroughly six or seven families that are sleeping the dough nurses camp is on the opposite side to the showers on the other end of the ship going to get washed is like an assault course under a truck past hundreds of people crossing many obstacles yawn above all avoid knocking over the pots of boiling oil that littered the bridge there's no way through here any mistake you'll fall over you see I need to walk sideways between the people you're trapped your trip you fool you slide your fall a donor's finally makes it to the showers [Music] here it's very dangerous using the water here is very risky the currents too strong you might get sucked in and swept away [Music] an old petrol can serves as the showerhead as for the toilets you need to be brave to step inside the back is the men's shell you wash you let the others go in so they can also wash do your business it's here you step halfway over the guardrail you squat like this and you do your business that's what you need to relieve yourself ference lips they'll fall under the propeller and gets sliced up you'll die all chopped up in little bits I've seen it myself people have fallen in and got chopped into bits [Music] the river conga looks calm or Miss Placid yet the pilot is constantly on the lookout the river is like a siren that the witches and sends men to sleep hiding the dangers because the Congo sweeps along debris and tree trunks that could pierce the hull of the ship at any moment [Music] steering a ship is a bit like driving a truck except on the river you'd stay this site because the no markers here that indicate rocks so it's up to the captain to guide us through their markers and virtually no navigation charts to help the pilot but captain Rene knows this river well and is the only person on board who knows exactly where the rocks and the wrecks are you need to know the river between here and kiss and guide by heart all 1,700 kilometres of it you must know every stretch and where the obstacles line there is in fact a chart on board but it hasn't been updated since Belgian colonial days more than 50 years ago this is the original chart the dates from when the Belgians were here in the mid-1950s these were the markers but they no longer exist they've disappeared used to be a wreck here in the middle of the channel there no signals there nothing so you need to make sure you use the main channel there are no life vests or lifeboats on board the bomani in the Congo there are not mandatory every year a number of ships sink in the waters of the river with the loss of hundreds of lives there's a rack then it's hard to save even just a few people usually 3/4 of those aboard will drown [Music] the banany has been struck by a tree trunk which has breached the ship's hull one of the holes is flooded and spilling over and the extra weight threatens the ship's balance the passengers however seem to be unconcerned [Music] [Applause] the tree trunk was floating in the river and has made a hole in the hole the trunk went under one of the barges and pokes up some cracks the ship sinks we'll all die look I like do we're trying to plug the hole when a hole was damaged was cement stop the water coming in that I see us through to our destination and then we'll need someone to solder the hole and fix it properly after two days on the river the ship reaches the village of Maluku dozens of canoes have been waiting for weeks filled with passengers and goods waiting to get on board the bomani is too big to pull up so it slows down and everyone tries to scramble on board as best they can I'm not leaving without getting my stuff on board when it left Kinshasa the ship was already overcrowded but amazingly almost another 200 people manage to clamber on board [Music] now make some review let's not argue okay let me just put my bag down and then you'll have room packages over there where are they gonna put the people don't try and get on later they keep telling to climb on board but there's no room because of the bows are already here I need to check up on everybody ticket check an almost impossible task since the ship is now packed with almost 2,000 passengers the new arrivals have melted into the masts the crew now tracked down the illegal passengers only three people have paid here the rest of you out the journey costs 40 euros which is a month's salary in the Congo as a result many try and sneak a free ride Jose Yan is the ship's cashier despairs she has barely sold a ticket since the departure from Kinshasa there are a lot of people on board hard to say how many but about 2,000 maybe more and only 36 of pay that's all the ships coffers are empty then it's a disaster for the owner Prospero are some dishonest people they scream and shout and make a fuss but don't want to pay they need to receive we're struggling to get the fares which will get us to our final destination and we use it to pay the crew pay for the fuel part of the engine and all the formalities to get us to our final destination after five days the ship has only covered 400 of the 1700 kilometers to the final destination nobody on board really knows when they'll finally arrive it might be a week two weeks or even a month it's one reason why the passengers refuse to buy a ticket they need the cash to feed themselves [Music] every day river traders climb on today's choices are garden vegetables forest fruits and fresh fish whether Israeli enough for everyone hey I'm here enemies stop pushing don't push [Music] [Applause] in before--the medium-sized fish so they bought a food in return for batteries medicine and clothes [Music] some fishermen risked their lives to make a living on the far side of the river the lure ganya braved the rapids every day their unique method of fishing has been handed down over the generations using their bare hands they look among the rocks for fish trapped by the currents the fishermen dance with death and an angry river Jil bears family have been fishermen for generations without the river he'd be nothing but there's a price to pay back in 84 my older brother was killed when the current threw him against some of the rocks his name was Kay Jolie my little brother Puma was killed in the same way some fishermen dived in to try and save him but it was too late my brother's bodies were never found they were swept away that's the pain of being a fisherman but we weren't stopped fishing it's our life so as not to have to dive in the rapids too often the fishermen have devised a snare fashioned from wood it works well and the men will later share the day's catch between them [Music] the current is very strong and dangerous when the fish is caught in the trap its killed right away [Music] when we go fishing we sell part of what we catch but the rest to feed our families the money we make from selling fish is for the women and children so they can pay for the school a dozen families live in the village which has no electricity [Music] geebeare proudly shows off his own little family with my first wife we had six kids Samara her in 82 my second wife I married in 86 and we had three children and with my third wife who I married in 88 we had another four the 17 members of the clan live in this ramshackle house inside there's barely any furniture apart from a bench on the chair to me my wives and children like owning a big diamond our ancestors were the same if you only had one wife you'd feel bad quit really you need to have a second and a third wife - then you'll be okay - I swear to God as a mark of respect for the river the best fighters are about to slug it out they practice kebab oh the local combat sport it's a question of brute force and has particular meaning to the fishermen Bobo is the way to build up your strength than you to take on the river currents without it there's nothing you could do that's why we teach Qamar bow to the children don't be scared of it don't be scared be aggressive once you get hold of him pull him pull him you need to use your legs for support understand [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] the bomani and her captain are also fighting against the current not for a week they've made oneit 500 kilometers the journey is turning into an epic [Music] [Applause] [Music] yet it proves a windfall for Murray mondo babe an unemployed nurse a combination of the weather and the Western sanitary conditions is starting to make people ill there's no doctor and no sick bay on board so the captain Julia points her the ship's doctor passenger like everyone else but I've studied nursing and I'm qualified I finished studying in 2003 and got sixty two percent in my final exams with 62% of medical knowledge Murray to us the ship looking for the sick most on board have never seen let alone been treated by a doctor in her white blouse and armed with a stethoscope Murray takes charge [Music] this 18 month old girl has been feverish for several days Marie first diagnoses malaria but then changes her mind I need to treat up a typhoid it's serious it can kill it destroys the intestines the medicine I have for typhoid costs one euro I'll pay you madam but it's it's just that I can't sell it in my merchandise nobody wants anything but your daughter has typhoid but you have anything cheaper please treat her we're all in the same boat here I'll pay you later if you've got the money you can pay for two bottles of Medicine because that'll be plenty to cure your child I'll give her an injection in the morning and one at night and she'll be much better the parents don't have enough money to pay for the medicine that Marie won't charge them for the first treatment the voyage is particularly hard on the children especially when the poorest parents give them river water to drink he's vomiting we need to stop that when I use the stethoscope I can tell what the different sounds and coughs indicate if you tap the chest and you hear it tam-tam boom-boom sibilant capita now the case of typhoid I administer medicine for the nausea and vomiting I need to do this to prevent the air bubbles so beats so the veins are difficult to locate vanes are not easy to spot even in his feet there are no vanes visible and this is where I was thinking of putting in the needles I'll check over there for any vitamin b6 tablets it's like medicine during wartime because the conditions are exactly unfavorable here [Music] [Applause] nine days on the river that bomani is about six days behind schedule so late that those who are sick will be able to wait for proper medical treatment in Kisangani captain Rheneas just crossed into the equator region an invisible border but one that worries him nonetheless [Music] day 10 and the bomani continues its relentless journey the river [Music] every evening Renae makes the rounds of his ship to check on his capital as he likes to say he receives a percentage of the take in the sleeping passengers piled on top of each other represent a considerable amount of money when they eventually pay their fares in Kisangani we let everyone come on we need the money so just about anyone who has the money is welcome that's why the ships bursting it seems with passengers go I already spoke before the passengers are so exhausted that even the threat of a rebel attack can't prevent them sleeping most are unaware of another danger there's so little room that Sarma sleeping where the hulls of the vessels are fastened together any sudden movement of the water means the hulls will strike each other crushing anyone who's caught in between there's no way you should get between the two barges it's not good it's very dangerous you could get your legs crushed or cut off by the ship's movements cd1 no God will protect us [Music] it's 3:00 in the morning and Murray the nurse has been urgently summoned there's no needle size five syringe nothing anyone else have syringes we need a finna thread came here with his family to sleep now you know the guy that was screaming them that's because his heels been deeply cut no he's gonna have guts to put up with that especially with no anaesthetic [Laughter] is one more stitch to try and keep the shape [Music] dawn on day 11 [Music] yeah well tamanna be so dope it's your Mexico loop but Danny my lasagna way to spare us from accidents engine problems and any other breakdowns leukopenia Mort a lullaby at C Daniels Oh Bob spare us from epidemics even if far away God be our Father and we shall be your children - please - yo is zombies Allah but God however chooses not to hear their prayers just a few hours later the port side engine gives up the ghost [Music] now make the [ __ ] list this way and make sure it starts list over this way and have a good look around the engine room we also noticed that a bolt has fallen off we're trying to see where it's from I'm seen anything nothing's falling through into the casing our engineer check that didn't see a bolt missing what happens sometimes small parts do fall into the engine yeah look look at this piston it might break down again it worries me before we start up where we need to lift the casing and test it now we're just waiting for the engine to get fixed the midst all this bad news there is one happy event the baby has just been born the family didn't have time to inform Murray the nurse is it a boy yeah is he healthy we this passenger of the mother give birth sleeping in my corner when it they fetch me to help this woman give birth I'm a member of the Red Cross you see and it's a great joy the birth of this child [Applause] the mother looks a little lost it's been a long hard journey just getting onto the ship [Music] [Applause] I'm a little sad because I have nothing I lost everything I had on the way the military stole everything we had all I have some of my other child's clothes I have no blankets or covers to keep off the cold I'm scared for my baby because I have no money left to buy food no provisions and there's no proper shelter news of the birth spreads quickly and so does camaraderie when we saw her in that state we all wanted to do something to help even if we're not family that's the way it works in the Congo we all help each other family comes with misery whether you have a family or not where there's a problem there's a solution during the course of the journey two more babies will be born even if they've seen it all before the sailors are still touched by the births I often see it and every time is wonderful [Music] the grandfather is so happy that he's named his grandson bomani after the ship give me my grandson bomani allah bear they've now been stuck for seven hours and some angry passengers go to the engine room for an explanation we're not cattle you know and maybe but get out of here please suddenly the old engine splutters into life again this is the piston and this one is in good condition and this pot you see this one's dead burnt out in an effort to make up for lost time captain Renee takes some enormous risks [Music] he's decided to carry on sailing at nighttime along the most dangerous stretch of the river somewhere he usually navigates only by day here the danger is constantly shifting always on the move the bomani heads into the darkness with a large torch as their only source of light [Music] Coxon how far is it to the riverbank the danger on this part of the river is not rocks but the sandbanks despite the currents the pilot has to keep the ship and deep waters in the middle of the river the channel is narrow I'm showing him the way since there are no markings if the crew were to use the sounding line for 5 meters they wouldn't touch the bottom but the Coxon is about to make a mistake we're drifting straighten up the pilot has lost his course and without a more powerful beam to light the way the captain has no way of knowing the ship's position the river who's taking the soundings take a sounding line and measure the dead one meter 60 the ship has just run aground on the sand bank [Music] now we're getting more and more stuck can you hear me is the ship making any headway I think we're really stuck fast that's where we hit the bank and it's that site that stuck in the sand now [Music] yes the communication system between the captain and the crew resembles the voyage itself no radio in the sailors 100 metres away can't hear the orders I must know how deep it is take a measure in the front chief give me our death let me know what the sounding says [Music] one of the half meters one meter 60 this way it's shifting only the front is still stunned the best thing would be to detach the small boats and in this part there but it'd be better if we stop and do this in the morning yeah because at night we might end up cutting people's legs off [Music] they break the next morning and the situation is hardly reassuring it's no good though throughout the night the ship's bow has become well and truly stuck in the sand [Applause] okay my deal or some someone will do the crew didn't do that jobs properly sure they fell asleep we've been stuck since 8 o'clock last night the captain's doing his best to get us out of this mess and we thought this trip would last 12 days I'm afraid it's going to be much longer than that the sailors are willing to try anything they'll try to separate the barges from the ship in an attempt to be able to maneuver [Music] one of the barges is in front it just needs a push to get it free it's a delicate maneuver if the water isn't deep enough the barge could get stuck even faster the deaths just been checked it's one meter eighty that's fine it's enough water you need to go round the sand back to get the barge back to the hurry we've wasted enough time already [Music] I need more sailors up here [Music] [Music] pass the sounding line over I can see the sand and we're dangerously close let's get going okay we're off again [Applause] everyone is applauding the crew who got us clear singing their praises happy now it's up to the captain to make up the time we're clear of the sand captain's a real operator he handled it very well he's a real fighter [Music] the Tennessee Tennessee Maya is that oriental to give with okay that ending go on the town of banda is finally in sight it marks the halfway stage of the journey staking captain rene 12 days to reach this far it's about the same time it should have taken to reach the final destination still got another thousand kilometers to do this is where we get off fighting is still raging in the region and the captain fearful for our safety asks us to disembark here the ship will take a month to reach Kisangani a few weeks later another ship won't be so lucky overloaded the keyable two sinks 140 of its passengers drown in the river Kongo [Music]

Channel: Show Me the World

Views: 1,144,740

Rating: 4.7270875 out of 5

Keywords: documentary, roads, National Geographic, waterways, travel, Deadliest Journeys, dangerous roads, most dangerous roads in the world, congo, democratic republic of the congo, documentary national geographic, river congo, most dangerous place in the world, most dangerous place in the world 2019, most dangerous roads in the world documentary, most dangerous roads in the world top 10, dangerous roads in the world videos

Id: qV0vHpcRdIg

Length: 49min 42sec (2982 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 12 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/submain]

At 22:38: "there are over two thousand people in this boat, but only 36 have paid."

Is this for real??

[u/lemmnnaa]

That’s a really good series of videos, Most Dangerous Roads. Really makes you appreciate what it is you’ve got.

[u/it_is_impossible]

Fantastic up to the last 90 seconds. “Well, cap’n asked us to leave at the halfway point sooo story’s over. Oh, and 138 people died on the next boat The End”

WHAT?? Well that sucks, I was ready for the whole trip. I may need to look up this narrator and see if he has more work out there, he’s incredible.

[u/blobtron]

The narrator is stellar- really goes beyond by mimicking their expressions instead of just providing a direct translation.

[u/n8ores]

With 62% of medical knowledge, maree tours the ship.

Hey at least she's honest!

[u/fairygodmotherfckr]

Thanks for posting this, OP, really interesting stuff.

My husband occasionally travels to places like the DRC, Afghanistan, rural Pakistan etc for his work. He tells me you have to have a different mindset when working in or travelling through such places. It may take you much longer to get where you were going than expected (for example, Pakistan International Airlines is nicknamed PIA - Perhaps It Arrives)

As this documentary shows very clearly, day-to-day existance is much more dangerous in these parts of the world. People have to live, with or without Health and Safety regulations. I've forgotten where this was, but early one morning my husband went with his companions went to get breakfast, and saw how the cafe stole its electricity - the proprietor’s son threw up a metal hook onto the power lines. It took a few throws for it to catch, and there were sparks everywhere... including all over what looked like petrol bottles near the entrance. Eeep.

It goes without saying that the wealthy people of these areas live much Westerners - it's just the poverty is so much more dire and widespread than in the West, and the security situation is much more precarious. I feel very lucky to have been born where I was...

[u/Am-I-Dead-Yet]

The whole series of these is insane. Definitely worth a watch.

[u/publicStaticVoidMan]

This was an absolutely riveting documentary. The last 20 seconds of narration was hard to listen to, especially after watching this entire saga unfold

[u/Yung_Corneliois]

Jeez man one bad thing after another.

Some have been on the bridge for a month reserving their spot with no clue when they leave.

They finally leave, it’s packed and there isn’t much drinkable water.

Few days pass

Adds 200 more people.

People are getting sick but there is a somewhat nurse on board (really liked her, does she get paid now that she’s appointed doctor of the ship?)

Hole in the ship, just spackle it with cement.

Ships hull is in to parts, could crush anyone at any second.

A baby was born but the mother doesn’t have any supplies. Grandpa is happy though and names the baby after the ship?

Apparently 2 more babies were born?

Sidebar: fishing sucks, bulk up on wives.

We’re behind schedule. Let’s travel at night.

Gets stuck on sand bar.

Finally we are back on the move.

Engine breaks down.

Finally we’re back in the move.

The trip should have taken 12 days, 12 days later were halfway there.

The end... oh and on the next ship a bunch of people died.

What a roller coaster.