22 killed, several injured after fire tears through wedding party in Congo

A fire that broke out during a wedding party in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, killed at least 22 people and injured several others, authorities said on Saturday.

According to a report by news agency Associated Press (AP), the blaze started late Friday night at a building in Lingwala, in northern Kinshasa, and continued into the early hours of Saturday. People attending the wedding struggled to escape through the building’s narrow hallways as the fire spread.

In the aftermath, several victims, both dead and alive, were seen lying by the roadside as attendees and others tried to help those who had survived.

Lingwala mayor Norbert Mushinga told the Congolese Press Agency that the provisional death toll stood at 22, warning that it could rise further.

The cause of the fire has not yet been established.

“It is a tragedy,” Congo’s Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Jacquemin Shabani said during a visit to the site on Saturday morning.

Deadly fires are a recurring problem in densely populated parts of Kinshasa, where rapid urban development is often not accompanied by adequate fire-fighting infrastructure. Local media reports have also highlighted several fires in the city this year, particularly during the dry season.

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