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DR Congo accident leaves 58 dead

13 August 2010 00:30 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. At least 58 people were killed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo when an overloaded lorry plunged into a lake, APA reports quoting Press TV.

Local authorities said on Thursday that the truck, which was also transporting goods, fell into Lake Tanganyika late Wednesday.

"Of the 63 people, we have only found five survivors. The driver hit a rock and the lorry tumbled into the lake. He was killed on the spot," AFP quoted head of a local human rights organization as saying .

Sources say the cause of the accident was not yet known.

In another road incident last month, 230 people were killed when a fuel tanker overturned and exploded in the same general area.

Road accidents are common in Congo, where safety standards are ignored as the infrastructure has been battered by years of civil war.