At least 27 dead with dozens more missing after boat capsizes in northwest Congo

BY JEAN-YVES KAMALE
Associated Press

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — A senior Congolese official says a boat capsized in Congo’s northwest killing at least 27 people. More than 70 others were missing as rescuers searched frantically for survivors. The locally made boat capsized late Friday in the town of Mbandaka in Equateur Province as it transported more than 100 passengers along the Congo River to the town of Bolomba. That’s according to Taylor Nganzi, deputy provincial governor, who said 27 bodies had been recovered. The New Civil Society of Congo, a local civil society group, said 49 people died in the accident, which it said occurred after an engine failure. The contradictory death tolls could not immediately be reconciled.