Overview
- The blaze started overnight Friday and into early Saturday inside a building in Lingwala, northern Kinshasa, and left at least 22 people dead and several others injured.
- Lingwala mayor Norbert Mushinga described the death toll as provisional and warned the number could rise as authorities continue on-site assessments.
- Eyewitnesses said survivors and victims were placed by the roadside and that narrow hallways in the building blocked escape and slowed rescue efforts.
- Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Jacquemin Shabani visited the scene and called the event "a tragedy," while officials have not yet confirmed the fire's cause.
- The incident underscores recurring fire risks in Kinshasa—dense informal housing, limited municipal fire services and the dry season—and comes as the DRC battles a major Ebola outbreak that has strained health workers and emergency response.