A weekend road accident in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) killed 27 people and injured 31 others, the Medecins Sans Frontiere (MSF) reported on Sunday.

The crash occurred on Saturday night along the Walikale-Masisi road in the Central African country's eastern North Kivu province, according to MSF.

The NGO said the injured were rescued by MSF, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the UN Mission for Stabilization of DR Congo (MONUSCO).

Local sources said a truck carrying goods and passengers from the Kibuha market overturned when being driven at a high speed, instantly killing 26 people. Another passenger died when he was being transferred to the Masisi hospital.

The death toll was provisional, but was confirmed by the North Kivu government and the ICRC office in the provincial capital Goma.

The injured were taken to the Kibuha health center and the Masisi general hospital for medication treatment.

Survivors told Xinhua from Masisi that some bodies had been taken away by their families.

The Masisi-Walikale road which runs 200 km long was hit by the recent torrential rains after being rehabilitated. Vehicles returned to the road after the start of the dry season.

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