A wedding celebration in Lingwala, a neighbourhood in the northern part of Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, turned into tragedy after a fire tore through the building where the ceremony was being held, killing at least 22 people and injuring several others. Lingwala's mayor said the blaze broke out late on Friday night and kept burning until Saturday morning, sending panic through the surrounding area as residents gathered at the scene.
Narrow corridors turned deadly
The building stood in Lingwala, on Kinshasa's northern edge. As flames spread rapidly, guests rushed toward the exits, but the corridors were so narrow that only a handful of people could pass through them at a time. That bottleneck meant many guests could not get out in time and ended up trapped and burned alive inside. Dense crowding and thick smoke inside the building made the situation even more dangerous, making it harder for people to find their way out.
Rescue attempts saved some, but not all
Other guests at the ceremony tried desperately to pull trapped people out of the fire. Several victims were carried out of the building and laid along the roadside. Some of them survived, while others died despite the rescue efforts. A celebration that had begun in laughter turned, within hours, into a scene of mourning, with cries from guests echoing through the neighbourhood.
Death toll crosses 22, expected to rise further
Lingwala mayor Norbert Mushinga told the Congolese Press Agency that the confirmed death toll has reached 22 and is likely to climb further. The exact cause of the fire has not yet been confirmed, and an investigation is underway. The Democratic Republic of Congo's Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, Jacquemin Shabani, called it a tragedy and personally visited the site on Saturday morning to assess the situation.
Why fires spike during the dry season
Fires are not uncommon in Kinshasa's densely populated neighbourhoods. According to local media, such incidents become more frequent during the dry season, since flames spread faster through crowded settlements that often have limited escape routes. Several similar fires have already been reported in the city this year. Earlier, a fire at a hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan, killed 15 newborns after an air conditioner compressor exploded.
