Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo, and Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, are the two closest capital cities anywhere in the world, facing each other from opposite sides of the Congo River just under four miles apart. The two capitals are very different, Brazzaville having a population of just over a million, whilst Kinshasa is home to around ten million.

Many ferries cross the River Congo as well as canoes and other boats, and the Pool Region, where the crossings take place is the scene of frequent accidents as many of the boats are in a poor state of repair.

In July 2010 eighty people died after their ferry hit a rock, in 2009 ninety people died after their supposedly non passenger logging boat sank and in one of the worst disasters in 1993, 147 citizens of the Democratic Republic of Congo drowned after the ferry leaving the Republic of Congo left the quayside prematurely pushing passengers into the water, and then, when the ferry made a hasty return after realising what had happened, it crushed many of those in the water.

In this video, take the short two mile trip across the Congo by ferry from Brazzaville to the port of Le Beach Ngobila in Kinshasa which extends for about four miles along the Congo River with its dozens of quays of differing sizes along its bank providing shelter for hundreds of boats and barges.