River boat capsize kills 49 in Congo: Official


FE Team | Published: May 25, 2018 13:25:37 | Updated: May 28, 2018 11:24:21


Representational Image (Collected)

A boat tipped over in a river in northern Democratic Republic of Congo, drowning 49 people on board while about the same number survived the accident, a local official told a Congolese radio station.

Richard Mboyo Iluka, vice governor of remote Tshuapa province, in northern Congo, told Radio Top Congo that the whaleboat had sunk with all of its passengers late on Wednesday.

Deadly boat accidents are common in Congo, a vast, forested country which has few roads outside of major towns and is carved up by a network of rivers that drain the Congo Basin. For most people these rivers are the only means of travelling over long distances, reports Reuters.

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