AN OVERCROWDED boat capsized on a river in central Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday, killing at least 25 people, including children, and leaving dozens missing, officials and local residents said.

The vessel was believed to have had more than 100 passengers on board after leaving from the town of Inongo, north-east of the capital Kinshasa.

It capsized a few hundred yards into the journey along the Fimi River, the latest such tragedy to strike Congo.