An overcrowded boat has capsized on a river in the central Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), killing at least 25 people, including children, and leaving dozens missing, according to officials and residents.

The vessel, which was believed to have more than 100 passengers on board, had left from the town of Inongo, northeast of the capital of Kinshasa, on Tuesday. It sank a few hundred metres into the journey along the Fimi river.

A search was under way for the missing hours later.

“There was overloading at roof level and, as far as the lifeless human bodies are concerned, at least 25 have been recovered so far,” said David Kalemba, Inongo’s river commissioner.

The capsized boat was also loaded with goods, according to Alex Mbumba, a resident of the area. “Among the dead are children … the boat had a lot of passengers,” Mbumba told the Associated Press news agency.

Deadly boat accidents are common in the DRC, where vessels are frequently loaded well beyond their capacity. The country has few tarred roads across its vast, forested territory, and river travel is common.

Advertisement

At least 78 people drowned in October when a boat that was reportedly carrying hundreds of people capsized on Lake Kivu, in the country’s east. Another 80 lost their lives in a similar accident on the Kwa river, about 70km from the city of Mushie in Mai-Ndombe province, near Kinshasa, in June.

The latest accident is the fourth this year in the Mai-Ndombe province, a region surrounded by rivers, prompting calls for authorities to equip it with flotation devices.

“The government must act to improve safety on the waters of our province [because] navigation conditions are dangerous,” Mbumba said.