Boat in DR Congo capsizes, 80 feared dead

May 8, 2010 At least eighty people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are feared dead after a boat capsized on the.

The boat was carrying 125 people when it turned over on Wednesday evening near the city of, capital of the eastern province; 45 people have been rescued from the waters, but the rest are missing, and some reports say twenty people were already confirmed dead. Rescue efforts are still ongoing.

"It was yesterday. It is thought that there could be around 80 dead. There were around 120 people on board," said a spokesman for UN peacekeeping mission in DRC, Madnodje Mounoubai.

It wasn't immediately clear why the accident happened; however, boats in the DRC frequently are overcrowded as they are a popular means of transport.