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47 dead, 100 missing in Congo boat accident

  • Story Highlights
  • District commissioner says 47 bodies pulled from Ubangi River
  • 100 still missing; 27 survivors were helped to shore
  • At least 182 passengers on boat; merchants, some women and children
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KINSHASA, Congo (AP) -- Officials say a motorized boat has sunk in Congo, killing at least 47 people. At least 100 people are missing.

Mathieu Modeste Bella, district commissioner of North Ubangi province in the far north of the central African country, said that 47 bodies had been recovered from the Ubangi River in the Central African nation. Twenty-seven survivors were helped to shore.

Bella says the boat was carrying at least 182 passengers, mostly merchants but also women and children.

"The rest of the passengers, more than 100, have disappeared," Bella said. "We do not know what happened to them."

The boat went down on Tuesday night after it left the Congo town of Mobayi Bongo, 700 miles northeast of Congo's capital, Kinshasa The boat was headed for Central African Republic, which shares a border with Congo.

Because of bad roads, many people in the area prefer to take small boats even if they do not know how to swim.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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