LUSAKA, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Seven refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have drowned after a boat they were in capsized in a lake in Zambia's Chiengi district in Luapula Province, the police said on Saturday.

Esther Mwaata-Katongo, Zambia Police Spokesperson said the victims were part of 35 refugees from a transit refugee center in Zambia's Nchelenge district in the same province who left the camp without authorization and hired a boat which is believed to have been overloaded.

According to the police spokesperson, four bodies, all juveniles with the youngest being 17-months-old, have since been retrieved while the search for the others has continued.

She said the accident happened when a small boat which was carrying luggage and a few people and was being towed by an engine boat capsized due to strong winds before the engine boat also capsized, resulting in the drowning of the victims.

She added that 22 people survived the accident while the coxswain of the boat has been detained for the offense of causing death by dangerous navigation.

The small boat is not yet retrieved, she added.