[2] An overloaded barge sank at around 20:00 local time near the village of Longola Ekoti in the province of Mai-Ndombe.

[3] The boat was travelling 700 km along the Congo River, from Kinshasa to Mbandaka City, and over 700 people were on board.

[4] Minister for Humanitarian Actions Steve Mbikayi Mabuluki told Al-Jazeera that the primary reason for the incident was that the vessel had too many passengers and too much cargo on board.

[6] In the days that followed, Mbikayi offered condolences to the families affected while also calling for sanctions against the transport companies involved.

[5] President Félix Tshisekedi subsequently announced that life jackets were mandatory for all passengers.