The cemetery in Mbandaka, a river port city in northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the final resting place of many victims of the country's repeated river boat accidents.

But despite the risks, many feel they have no option but to get on a boat to travel in the vast, landlocked DRC, the size of western Europe.

"I know it's too risky but I have no other choice. There aren't any other means of transport," teacher Nestor Mokwanguba told AFP with resignation, before boarding the King's Sword, a large, motorised dugout canoe bound for Bolomba, 250 kilometres (155 miles) away.

It rains almost all year round in Mbandaka, the capital of Equateur province in the dense rainforest of the Congo Basin of central Africa.

What land routes exist in the province are nearly all dirt roads

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