life jacket

Boats are often poorly maintained, carry no life jackets, and many of the migrants cannot swim.

The passengers, all of them Afghan, were not wearing life jackets.

The government's taskforce is recommending that boats be fitted with safety ladders, fisherman be required to wear life jackets, and that safety training be mandatory for all foreign crew.

"They're travelling in inhuman conditions," fretted the mayor of Mbandaka, who had come to the riverbank to check the boat was not overloaded and the passengers would be provided with life jackets.

The authority added that it would set up a high-level investigation committee with the transport ministry and launch a "sustained lakeside safety enforcement operation" to ensure compliance with passenger limits and life jacket rules.