Death toll in DR Congo boat accident put at 72

At least 72 people are confirmed to have died after a motorized boat capsized last week in a river in Equateur province in northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), authorities said Thursday.

The boat was headed to the neighboring Republic of Congo when it sank at night on the Lulonga River on Jan. 17 near the town of Basankusu.

“The toll is 72 bodies were recovered and buried and 67 people are still missing while 148 people survived,” the provincial Minister for Humanitarian Actions, Luc-Didier Mbula, told journalists.

The boat was overloaded with people and goods, according to authorities.