27 dead, dozens missing after locally made boat capsizes in Congo

A boat capsized in Congo's northwest resulting in the death of at least 27 people, with over 70 individuals still missing, stated a senior government official on Saturday.

The accident occurred late Friday in the city of Mbandaka, in Equateur Province. The locally manufactured boat was transporting more than 100 passengers along the Congo River to Bolomba town, as per Taylor Nganzi, the deputy provincial governor.

Nganzi revealed that 27 bodies have been retrieved from the water and transported to the morgue of the general hospital in Mbandaka. An investigation into the cause of the accident has commenced.

The New Civil Society of Congo, a local civil society group, reported that 49 people died in the accident, attributing the incident to an engine failure. 'Everything started to sink,' said Jean-Pierre Wangela, the president of the group, in a statement to the press.

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