Nearly forty dead after barge collision in DR Congo

Reports from the Democratic Republic of Congo say nearly forty people drowned after two overcrowded barges collided on the Kasai river north-east of the capital, Kinshasa, on Monday.

The newspaper, Le Potentiel, said all the dead were on board one of the vessels which sank.

It said about twenty people were rescued.

The newspaper blamed corrupt checkpoint officials for allowing the overcrowding of the barges.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service