At least 50 people have died in a boat accident in the northwestern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to officials. The boat which had been transporting passengers and goods tipped over in the Mombovo River as it made its way from Monkoto to Mbadanka on Wednesday night. “We found 49 bodies on Thursday and another one this morning,” Tshuapa Vice-Governor Richard Mboyo Iluka told reporters on Friday, Aljazeera reported. It was still not clear how many people were on board or how many had survived, with search and rescue missions still underway. “The causes of the sinking and the number of people missing are not yet known. The provincial government has already sent a team to find out more,” Mboyo said. He pointed out that the boat had been traveling by night and without light, which is illegal under government safety measures. River transportation is common in the DRC where fewer roads means travelers often have no option but to rely on boats as a low-cost form of transportation.
