Over 50 dead, more missing after boat sinks on Congo River

DRC provincial authorities say 51 bodies recovered and nearly 70 believed to be missing after makeshift vessel capsizes.

More than 50 people have died and more are believed to be missing following the capsizing of a makeshift vessel on the Congo River earlier this week, according to provincial authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Fifty-one bodies had been recovered by late on Friday from the boat that sank during the night of Monday to Tuesday, and almost 70 are believed to be missing, Nestor Magbado, a spokesman for the governor of the northwestern province of Mongala, told AFP news agency on Saturday.

He said there were 39 survivors.