KINSHASA, May 24 (Xinhua) -- At least 49 people died after a ship sank on Wednesday night in the Congo River in northwest part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Governor of Tshuapa province Mboyo Iluka said on Thursday.

Iluka said the boat that left the village of Monkoto for Mbandaka sank in province of Tshuapa. The cause of the accident remains unknown.

According to local sources, a team composed of the provincial minister of humanitarian affairs, division chiefs and provincial deputies was dispatched to the scene to investigate the situation.

Accidents in the Congo River are often caused by the bad conditions of boats and overload of passengers, according to the authorities.

Last April, at least 42 civilians fleeing the violence between attackers and soldiers in Dongo in South Ubangi province, drowned in the Ubangi River in the same part of the country.