life jacket

"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.

Miscellaneous items include a life jacket for dogs.

Mr Ara said the government had set up a team of "water marshals" to stop boat operators from overloading their vessels and ensure passengers wear life jackets.

We have learnt that they were flown from Delhi to an island in the Bay of Bengal, put on a naval vessel and eventually forced into the Andaman Sea with life jackets.