Boat accident in Congo

At least 20 people were killed and 60 others feared a similar fate after a boat capsized in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), said a number of UN and Red Cross officials said Thursday.

UN peacekeepers and local authorities are still looking for victims who survived after the ship carrying about 120 people in a river in Maniema province, eastern DRC, was overturned on Wednesday.

"A large ship capsized and 20 people were killed," said Jacques Katshishi, secretary general of the Red Cross of the Congo, told Reuters, without further explanation.

A spokesman for the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo boat accident confirm that.

"It happened yesterday. It is estimated that around 80 people were killed. There were about 120 people on board," said UN mission spokesman Madnodje Mounoubai.

Road-highway and railroad lines damaged in the Congo after decades of neglect, so people were forced to use river transport to travel in the country's vast central Africa.

There has been no reason given for Wednesday's accident, but are often overloaded blamed for the accident.