Officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo said Saturday that more than 100 people were killed or missing when a boat sank on the Congo River.
Nestor Magbado, a spokesman for the governor of the northwestern province of Mongala, said the accident occurred during the night of Monday to Tuesday.
Fifty-one bodies had been recovered by late Friday from the sinking, he said, adding that there were 39 survivors.
The country is not new to boat accidents that claimed many lives. In 2003, more than 200 people were feared dead after a boat accident during a storm in the capital, Kinshasa.
Also in November 2010, at least 100 people died in DR Congo after two boats capsized in separate incidents.
One of the boats was carrying up to 300 people when it caught fire on the Kasai River near the Angolan border. The boat was allegedly carrying transporting fuel and was not supposed to be transporting any passengers.
In the other accident, at least 24 people died in the province of Equateur when a boat capsized on the Ruki river. The boat had up to 100 people on board. More than 70 people were believed dead in the incident.
