Updated on
Summary At least 50 people drowned and some 35 are reported missing after a boat accident in DRC.
The mishap occurs in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The vessel was carrying at least 200 passengers. At least 115 were saved while 50 bodies were recovered from the water with difficulty, the government spokesperson said. The large motorised barge, which was also carrying goods, collided during the night with another boat, which was empty, on the Tshuapa river, 115km east of the provincial capital Mbandaka,.The boats manifesto indicated that 200 people were on board, but some of the survivors say there were about 350 people.Overloading boats is a common practice in the DRC, and is also one of the main causes of the many shipwrecks in the vast central African country, which is studded with lakes and rivers. The mighty Congo river itself is one of the main transport routes.
