At least 49 people have been reported killed in a boat accident in northern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The boat is reported to have tipped over drowning 49 people on board and about the same number survived the accident.

Mr. Richard Mboyo Iluka, vice governor of remote Tshuapa province, in northern Congo,toldRadio Top Congo that the whaleboat had sunk with all of its passengers late on Wednesday.

Deadly boataccidentsare common in Congo, a vast, forested country which has few roads outside of major towns and is carved up by a network of rivers that drain the Congo Basin.

For most people, these rivers are the only means of travelling over long distances. (NAN)