Tributes to victims of DR Congo market electrocution

The 25 people who were fatally electrocuted by a falling power cable last week in a busy market in the Democratic Republic of Congo are being laid to rest.

Tributes were held on Friday at the Velodrome stadium in the capital, Kinshasa.

Their deaths at nearby Matadi Kibala market were caused by a high-voltage cable snapping and falling onto houses and people. Many of those who died were female market traders.

The market was closed to the public afterwards and the retailers relocated.

It is not yet clear what caused the power cable to break.

Several districts of the capital are prone to flooding due to poorly maintained colonial-era drainage systems.

One trader said the market often flooded when it rained, with workers and shoppers having to wade through water.

By BBC