More than 80 passengers killed in the latest boat accident in Congo

BY CHRISTINA MALKIA
Associated Press

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo’s president says a boat carrying more than 270 passengers has capsized on a river near Congo’s capital of Kinshasa, leaving more than 80 dead. It was the latest deadly boat accident in the central African country where overloading is often blamed, including in February when dozens lost their lives after an overloaded boat sank. The statement Wednesday quoting President Félix Tshisekedi says the locally made boat capsized late Monday in Maï-Ndombe province along the Kwa River. An official said 86 people died while 185 managed to swim ashore after the boat hit the edge of the river bank and broke up.