Dozens of people were missing on Saturday after a collision between two boats on the Congo River in western Democratic Republic of Congo, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and a local official said. The WHO said in a report that the accident occurred on Thursday along a stretch of the river about 200 kilometres (125 miles) north-east of the capital Kinshasa in Bandundu province and was provoked by a strong whirlwind from nearby rapids.
According to figures from local transportation officials cited by the WHO, three bodies were recovered out of an estimated 100 on board one of the vessels. Some 42 survivors made it to shore. However the WHO said that there was no passenger manifest and that witness accounts suggest the boat was carrying closer to 150 passengers. The second boat did not sustain any known damage, the WHO said.