At least 22 people have died after two boats collided on the Congo River ​in the Democratic Republic of Congo, an ‌official said.

The incident occurred near the town of Ngombe in Lukolela territory in western Equateur province at around 2 ​a.m. local time (0100 GMT) on Saturday, Crispin ​Mputu, the provincial interior minister, told Reuters.

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The ⁠collision involved two vessels travelling on the river. ​One was a commercial boat operating between Kinshasa ​and Mbandaka, while the other was a passenger riverboat travelling from Mongala province to Kinshasa, Mputu said.

The impact ​caused the passenger boat to sink. A security ​source told Reuters it had 163 passengers on board.

Twenty-two bodies ‌have ⁠been recovered and buried, while 59 people were rescued, Mputu said. He added that other victims might have been buried elsewhere.

The sunken vessel ​remains submerged at ​a depth ⁠of 12 meters and recovery efforts were continuing on Monday evening, ​Mputu said.

River transport is the main form ​of ⁠travel and trade in much of western Congo, where towns and cities are located along the ⁠Congo River, ​but accidents are common because ​vessels are often overcrowded and poorly maintained.