Overview
- A blaze swept through a wedding venue in Lingwala, northern Kinshasa, starting overnight Friday and into early Saturday and leaving at least 22 people dead and several others injured.
- Journalists and eyewitnesses reported that narrow, congested hallways and limited exits blocked people trying to flee and contributed to many becoming trapped.
- Onlookers and attendees laid wounded and dead victims along the roadside while hospitals in the area treated those pulled from the building.
- Deputy Prime Minister Jacquemin Shabani visited the scene and called it 'a tragedy' as local officials cautioned the provisional toll could rise and investigators have not confirmed the fire’s cause.
- The incident underscores persistent shortfalls in Kinshasa’s fire safety and emergency services during the dry season, a pattern that has made urban blazes more deadly in recent months.