About 50 people have died after a boat capsized on a river in the Democratic Republic of Congo, officials say.

The vice-governor of Tshuapa province in the north of the country said the cause of the accident was not clear.

More than 60 people survived when the boat tipped over as it was travelling from Monkoto to Mbandaka.

River transport is common in DR Congo as there are few roads or railways, but vessels are often overloaded and accidents are frequent.

Mbandaka is also currently struggling with an outbreak of Ebola, with fears that it could spread from the city of one million to the capital, Kinshasa, via traders using the Congo river.

Tshuapa Vice-Governor Richard Mboyo Iluka told the AFP news agency that the boat had been travelling at night, which is illegal, and did not have lights.

More bodies are still being found along the Momboyo river, where the accident occurred.

The area is very remote with no access to a mortuary, so the victims are being hastily buried near the river.

Last month more than 40 people drowned when travelling to neighbouring Congo-Brazzaville.</s>KINSHASA (Reuters) - A boat tipped over in a river in northern Democratic Republic of Congo, drowning 49 people on board while about the same number survived the accident, a local official told a Congolese radio station.

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

Deadly boat accidents are 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 traveling over long distances.</s>Despite its vast size and dilapidated health system, the Democratic Republic of Congo is confident that it will be able to contain the current outbreak of the deadly Ebola disease, which is thought to have killed 27 people.

There has been one case in Mbandaka, a densely populated city of one million. This has led to fears the disease could spread rapidly through the city, as happened in West Africa four years ago, causing more than 11,000 deaths.

Dr Jean-Jacques Muyembe was among the researchers who first identified Ebola in 1976 in DR Congo, and has been on the teams that have responded to each of the eight subsequent outbreaks in the country. The disease was even named after one of DR Congo's many rivers.

"I am confident because I think we have very good experience of this disease and we'll stop this outbreak as soon as possible," he told the BBC.

All previous outbreaks in DR Congo have been relatively small. The biggest one so far, in 1976, had 318 reported cases and 280 deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

"We have some experience of managing this kind of an outbreak in a city. I don't think we'll have the kind of situation witnessed in West Africa in 2014," said Dr Muyembe, head of the National Institute for Biomedical Research in DR Congo.

That level of experience has come in handy each time there is an outbreak.

"We were very positively surprised that in most of the areas we visited - they have a response plan and a response team in place," said Dr Michel Yao, the WHO-appointed Incident Manager and Head of Emergencies in the Africa region.

He said the response teams in the country know what to do and can swing into action as soon as Ebola re-emerges.

The current outbreak was declared on 8 May in Bikoro, a small rural town north of the capital, Kinshasa.

Response teams from the government and international organisations moved quickly to the affected areas. But the efforts have been hampered by transport challenges.

"What needs to be provided is mainly logistics support to enable them to reach the areas and the population that is at a high risk," said Dr Yao.

'We cut grass so helicopters can land'

DR Congo is a vast country which is roughly the size of Western Europe, with dense forest cover and few passable roads, especially in rural areas.

The international organisations responding to the outbreak - WHO and Médicins Sans Frontières, among others - created an air bridge to help move health workers and medical supplies to the affected areas.

But even helicopters have been difficult to land in remote places like Iboko, the latest area to report cases of Ebola. There are no roads that lead to the area.

"We send people on the ground to cut grass so that helicopters can land," said Dr Yao.

This remoteness may have played a role in minimizing the spread of previous outbreaks.
• Why Ebola is so dangerous

Without public transport, the number of people one comes into contact with is greatly reduced.

The smaller populations in the villages have also meant that isolating patients and tracing their contacts is less complicated compared to a large city.

"In these places, it's easier to reach all of the people affected," said Dr Yao.

When the first case was confirmed in Mbandaka on 17 May, the alarm was raised.

The city of more than one million people is a busy transport hub by the River Congo. There is frequent travel between it and the capital Kinshasa, as well as Brazzaville in neighbouring Congo.

"This is a major, major game-changer," announced Peter Salama, WHO's Deputy Director General of Emergency Preparedness and Response. He said the number of people a person with Ebola can come into contact with in an urban area is amplified.

The isolation units and treatment centres now being used are a fairly recent strategy in Ebola control, used since the outbreak in West Africa. Previously patients were isolated but within hospital facilities. The specialised tents were not available.

In Mbandaka, MSF has set up treatment centres but a major breach occurred on Monday when relatives of three patients took them away "for prayers" in a local church.

What is being done to halt Ebola

A vaccination campaign has also been launched in the city and it is hoped this will help halt the spread of the disease.

Other strategies include public health messages through radio, schools, churches and word of mouth, educating people about Ebola and how to prevent it.

Unicef has installed hand-washing units in more than 50 schools. The UN peacekeeping mission, known as Monusco, has also been roped in - even though it is in the country for a different mission - to stabilise the security in the troubled east.

The peacekeepers are helping provide a lot of air transport to affected areas.

Acting fast to control an outbreak of Ebola has proved to be very important in halting its spread.

And DR Congo has shown that it is possible to tackle Ebola even in a country with inadequate hospitals, most of which lack proper equipment and enough staff. Seven out of every 10 Congolese have little or no access to health care.

But the outbreak in Mbandaka is not the first in an urban area for the country.

"In Kikwit it was also an outbreak in an urban area, less than 500km from Kinshasa," recalled Health Minister Oly Illunga Kalenga.

Dr Muyembe remembers the incident in 1995: "One of our patients escaped from Kikwit and came to Kinshasa. He was received at the hospital and we did not have another case of Ebola."

In 1976, he also flew with a nurse who had high fever from Yambuku - the affected area - to the capital.

"She died and infected two other nurses," Dr Muyembe said.

There were no other cases. Given such a history, Dr Muyembe and the health minister have no doubts that the country has what it takes to stop an outbreak of Ebola.

Dr Yao of WHO sums it up: "They know what to do."</s>The recent history of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) has been one of civil war and corruption.

DR Congo is a vast country with immense economic resources and, until recently, has been at the centre of what some observers call "Africa's world war", with widespread civilian suffering the result.

The war claimed an up to six million lives, either as a direct result of fighting or because of disease and malnutrition.

The war had an economic as well as a political side. Fighting was fuelled by the country's vast mineral wealth, with all sides taking advantage of the anarchy to plunder natural resources. Some militia fight on in the east, where a big United Nations force is trying to keep the peace.

Joseph Kabila became president when his father Laurent was assassinated in 2001. He was elected in 2006, and secured another term in controversial elections in 2011.

He refused to leave office when his term expired in December 2016. Elections, twice delayed, are due to be held in December 2018, but opposition groups say they have little hope that the vote will be fair and credible.

Public rallies have been banned since September 2016, when dozens of demonstrators were killed.

The Congolese media operate against a backdrop of political power struggles and unrest.

Reporters Without Borders says journalists face arrest, threats and violence.

The press carries criticism of the government, and some publications reflect opposition party views.

Radio is the leading medium. Radio Okapi, partly run by the local UN mission, is an influential outlet.

1200s - Rise of Kongo Empire, centred in modern northern Angola and including extreme western Congo and territories round lakes Kisale and Upemba in central Katanga (now Shaba).

16th-17th centuries - British, Dutch, Portuguese and French merchants engage in slave trade through Kongo intermediaries.

1908 - Congo Free State placed under Belgian rule following outrage over treatment of Congolese.

1960 - Independence, followed by civil war and temporary fragmentation of country.

1997-2003 - Civil war, drawing in several neighbouring countries (Africa's first world war).

2003 - 2016 - Conflict persists in the east, where there are still dozens of armed groups.

2006 - First free elections in four decades. Joseph Kabila wins the run-off vote.

2015 - At least 30 killed in protests against proposed changes to electoral law which the opposition says are designed to allow President Kabila to remain in power in violation of the constitution.</s>I-49 Northbound and Southbound Lanes in Rapides Parish near Cheneyville are now open, authorities said.</s>A third day of vaccinations is under way in an effort to stop the spreading of Ebola, which has killed at least 27 people since the latest outbreak was declared two weeks ago in DR Congo.</s>Almost all the 30 players listed by coach Gernot Rohr for the 2018 FIFA World Cup have reported in Uyo, Akwa Ibom to prepare for the warm up friendly against Congo DR on May 28 in Port Harcourt.

As at yesterday only captain John Obi Mikel, Ahmed Musa and John Ogu are still being expected to arrival at the Le Meridien Ibom Hotel & Golf Resort camp in Uyo. It was gathered that Victor Moses has been granted an extension.

The Super Eagles are expected to continue with light training, which started yesterday as the prepare for the match against Congo DR who are also coming with an array of Euro-based players.

The team are expected to leave for Port Harcourt Saturday ahead of a friendly against DR Congo on Monday, May 28.</s>"There are a few factors that have given us concern that the outbreak has the potential to expand. First, is the involvement of a town, Mbandaka, which is the capital of the Equator province … Secondly, that town is on the Congo River and its tributaries, which ultimately connect this outbreak potentially to Kinshasa and also the surrounding countries such as the Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic," Salama said at an information session on the Ebola outbreak of the 71st World Health Assembly.

Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO regional director for Africa, stated that the organization's regional office was preparing DR Congo's neighboring countries for the EVD prevention.

"As immediate next steps we will continue the capacity building and training of multidisciplinary teams in each of the countries on managing Ebola, starting with the Congo and the Central African Republic, and are helping them also to start working on their resource mobilization to up their preparedness," Moeti said at the session.

​The WHO in its response to the EVD outbreak is prioritizing nine countries neighboring the DR Congo: Angola, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Zambia.

​According to media reports, citing DR Congo's Ministry of Public Health, the number of people now confirmed to be infected with the Ebola virus in the country has risen to 28, while a total of 51 EVD cases have been reported in the region.

​The Ebola virus is transmitted to humans from animals and is estimated by the WHO to have a 50-percent fatality rate. The DR Congo's latest EVD outbreak was in July-November 2014. This was the country's seventh outbreak. According to the information provided by the WHO, during the 2014 epidemic, a total of 66 EVD cases were registered, and as many as 49 cases resulted in death.</s>According to the Actualite.cd news portal, a total of 51 EVD cases were reported in the region, of which 28 were confirmed, 21 were probable and two were suspected. At least one lethal case was confirmed in the Wangata community in Mbandaka, the capital of the Equateur province.

READ MORE: Congo Gov’t to Launch Experimental Vaccination in Ebola-Hit Mbandaka – Reports

Meanwhile, the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) has launched an international appeal for $1.6 million to support the ongoing work of the organization in Congo.

Dr. Fatoumata Nafo-Traore, the organization’s regional director for Africa, highlighted that the IFRC prioritized its emergency response to the EVD outbreak with the provision of burials.

"Our emergency operation includes a major focus on safe and dignified burials. This was a critical intervention in West Africa where it prevented as many as 10,000 additional cases," Nafo-Traore said.

The Ebola virus is transmitted to humans from animals and is estimated by the WHO to have a 50-percent fatality rate. The DR Congo's latest EVD outbreak was in July-November 2014. This was the country's seventh outbreak. According to the information provided by the WHO, during the 2014 epidemic, a total of 66 EVD cases were registered, and as many as 49 cases resulted in death.

In total, the disease killed over 11,000 people in West Africa between 2014 and 2015.
A whaleboat accident kills 49 people in Tshuapa province, DR Congo.