Fifty people died in a boat accident on a river in remote northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), officials said on Friday.

The accident happened on the Momboyo river Wednesday night, Richard Mboyo Iluka, vice governor of Tshuapa province, told AFP, saying: “We found 49 bodies on Thursday and another one this morning.” The boat had been transporting passengers and a large amount of goods from the town of Monkoto to the city of Mabandaka in Equateur province, local residents said.