AT LEAST 30 PEOPLE KILLED IN BOAT COLLISION ON CONGO RIVER

KINSHASA, OCTOBER 5 /SRNA/ - At least 30 people have been killed and dozens are missing after two boats collided on the Congo River, Congo's provincial Interior Minister Crispin Mputu said today.

"Motorized wooden boats collided last night near the Ngombe-Lukolela area in Equateur Province," Mputu said, AP reported.

He said that nighttime navigation had frequently led to accidents, while the cause of the collision was not yet known.

"One boat was traveling from Ubangi, in the northwest of the country, toward the capital Kinshasa, while the other was traveling from Kinshasa toward Lukolela, near the site of the collision," Mputu said.

He added that the search for victims and survivors was still ongoing.