Kinshasa - Saba:
The death toll from a boat fire on the Congo River in northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has risen to at least 143, with dozens still missing.
"A first set of 131 bodies was found on Wednesday, and another 12 bodies were recovered on Thursday and Friday," MP Josephine-Pacific Lukumu said in a statement on Saturday.
Joseph Lukondo, a local civil society leader, gave a "provisional death toll of 145." He said the fire broke out in a wooden motor boat carrying fuel on Tuesday off Mbandaka, the capital of Equateur province.
"A woman lit a cooking ember and the nearby fuel exploded, killing many children and women," the deputy explained.
She added that the total number of passengers on the boat is unknown, but is estimated to be in the "hundreds".
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, a vast country in central Africa, has very few passable roads, and travel is often by way of the Congo River and its tributaries. Shipwrecks are a regular occurrence, often resulting in heavy losses.
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