Sharjah 24 – AFP: More than 100 people have died after heavy rains and flooding in eastern DR Congo's South Kivu province, officials said Friday, days after torrential downpours killed dozens in neighbouring Rwanda.

Archimede Karhebwa, the assistant administrator of South Kivu's Kalehe territory -- which was hit by the floods -- told AFP that about 100 people had died, according to a provisional toll.

Several villages in Kalehe, which lies west of Lake Kivu, were submerged when rivers burst their banks after heavy rains, he said.

Karhebwa explained that the floods carried away hundreds of houses and also "surprised vendors and their clients in the markets".

AFP was unable to independently confirm the death toll, with reported figures varying.

A member of a rescue team deployed on Friday afternoon, who declined to be named, said that 68 bodies had been found.

"The search is continuing in the rubble," he said.

Eastern Congo's deadly flooding follows the death of at least 127 people this week after downpours in neighbouring Rwanda, which lies on the other side of Lake Kivu.