Kinshasa, Sept 7:
At least 22 people were killed when a fire broke out during a wedding celebration in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, officials said.
The blaze erupted while a wedding party was under way, killing at least 22 people and leaving several others injured. Emergency teams rushed to the scene as authorities began efforts to establish the exact circumstances surrounding the fire and identify the victims.
The tragedy has prompted renewed attention to safety standards at crowded public gatherings in the Congolese capital. Authorities are expected to investigate the cause of the fire and determine whether any safety regulations were breached. The identities of all the victims and the full extent of the injuries were still being established.