By AFP

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Eleven people including seven children died when a boat struck a rock and sank on Lake Tanganyika off the coast of DR Congo at the weekend, local authorities said Monday.

Rescue workers found the bodies of four women, four girls and three boys, shore official Kashindi Bovari said.

Another 62 people survived the accident overnight Saturday, he said.

The total number of people aboard the stricken vessel was unknown, but there were no reports of missing passengers.

The motorised canoe carrying passengers and goods had left Uvira at the lake's northernmost end en route to the village of  Karamba on the Ubwari peninsula, striking the rock near Mboko.

Boat sinkings are frequent in the DR Congo, often with heavy loss of life.

The vast country has few passable roads, and river and lake routes are common alternatives.