At least 36 people are missing after a boat capsized in the Congo River on the outskirts of Kinshasa, the capital of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), police said Sunday.

The vessel carrying passengers and cargo had departed from Mai-Ndombe province in Congo's northwest and was bound for Kinshasa when it sank near the commune of Maluku sometime Saturday night into early Sunday morning.

Out of an estimated 102 passengers, 76 had been rescued, national police spokesman Pierrot Mwanamputu told Germany's dpa press agency.

The vessel involved in the accident was a "baleiniere," which is French for "whaler." They are commonly-used, flat-bottomed boats measuring between 15 to 30 meters (50 to 100 feet) long by 2 to 6 meters wide.

Police said the cause of the accident remains under investigation.

Boat accidents occur regularly in central Africa, mainly due to unmarked waterways, overloading and dilapidated vessels.

wmr/tj   (AFP, dpa)

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