Fourteen villagers from the same family, including 12 children, died on Friday in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, believed to be a result of food poisoning, local sources said.

After consuming a liquid mixture, they experienced "stomach problems, some had diarrhoea and died", said Raha Lukas, civil society president for the administrative region of Lugendo where the family village Bunumbu is located.

The 14 people who died included "two mothers and 12 school children," said Lugendo's local chief Gilbert Bahati Mboga.

Four other members of the family who had eaten the same food were admitted to a medical facility, Mboga added.

The cause of death has not been confirmed, he said, although the "first hypothesis" was the consumption of the "intoxicated" mixture.