7 killed after stampede at gospel music concert in DR Congo

The incident happened at the Stade de Martyrs stadium in the north of the city during a concert by Congolese gospel singer Mike Kalambayi on Saturday.

State broadcasters RTNC said on X that there had been "seven deaths and several people admitted to intensive care".

"Overflows and crowd movements" at the stadium "resulted in the death of men", the cabinet of Kinshasa governor Daniel Bumba said in a statement late on Saturday.

The stadium has a capacity for 80,000 people.

Event organisers Maajabu Gospel said 30,000 people had attended the concert.

"It is with deep sadness that we learned of the deaths of our compatriots who lost their lives, while the security services were trying to neutralise some troublemakers," Maajabu Gospel said in a statement.

AFP contacted local authorities but did not immediately receive a response.

A stampede in 2022 in the same stadium left eleven people dead, including nine spectators and two police officers.

That incident happened during a concert by African music star Fally Ipupa.