Two boats capsized (傾覆) over the weekend in separate incidents on Congo's vast rivers, leaving 70 people dead and 200 others feared dead, and both vessels were heavily loaded and operating with few safety measures, officials said yesterday.

Early on Sunday, a boat on a river in northwest Equateur Province hit a rock and capsized, provincial spokeswoman Ebale Engumba said. She said more than 70 people were believed dead among 100 estimated passengers. She said officials were investigating why the boat was travelling through the darkness without a light.

In a separate incident in Kasai Occidental Province, 200 people were feared dead after a boat loaded with passengers and fuel drums caught fire and capsized in southern Congo, a survivor said. Another survivor confirmed the account and said local fishermen refused to help drowning passengers who jumped off the crowded boat.

The incident in southern Congo would be the deadliest boat accident in the Central African nation this year, and among the worst in Africa this year.

The boats that traverse Congo's rivers are often in poor repair and filled beyond capacity. The industry is not well-regulated and boat operators are known to fill boats to dangerous levels.In the first incident in northwest Congo, Engumba said officials think the boat's lack of lighting was responsible.

"We are going to arrest people involved who are in charge of regulating (控制) the boat's movement who failed to stop that boat from travelling at night," she said.AP