At least 22 people have died after a fire erupted at a wedding party in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The fire started on Friday and continued into the early hours of Saturday at a building in Lingwala, a northern district in the nation’s capital of Kinshasa.
Guests perished as they attempted to flee through the building’s narrow corridors.
Bodies of the injured and the dead were laid at the roadside by attendees who then rushed to help those who had survived.
Pictures of the aftermath show the scorched exterior of the building spread across two floors.
The interior was also torched in the blaze with only burnt tables, chairs and decorations remaining.
The mayor of Lingwala, Norbert Mushinga, told the Congolese Press Agency that the provisional death toll of the blaze was 22 but said it could rise further in the coming days.
The exact cause of the fire at the wedding party has yet to be confirmed, although an electrical issue or wedding decorations may be to blame.
Scorched table clothes and chairs pictured inside the wedding venue in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital city, Kinshasa
The destroyed exterior of the building which was damaged by the fire which spread across two floors
At least 22 people perished in the blaze but the death toll could rise further in the coming days
Mr Mushinga added that attendees who were injured while fleeing the party were ‘transported to various hospital facilities’ in the surrounding area.
Jacquemin Shabani, Congo’s deputy prime minister and interior minister, who visited the site on September 5 said: ‘It is a tragedy.’
Deadly fires are understood to be commonplace in the densely populated areas of Kinshasa.
Urban development in parts of the city without sufficient safety provisions such as fire services can lead to fires occurring.
During the dry season, the likelihood of fires is significantly higher and several have broken out this year, according to Congolese media.
