At least 15 people died and 30 others were injured in a stampede that occurred during a football match at the Tata Raphael Stadium in Kinshasa.

The death toll was announced on Monday in a statement issued by the Interior Ministry.

A source in the DR Congo Red Cross said earlier on Sunday that the death toll could rise.

“The number of deaths will certainly rise, we believe at least 20 people died and over 100 were injured,” the source from the Congolese Red Cross said.

A source from the stadium said that the match between two popular football teams in the country had been played in a sporting spirit until towards the end, with the score standing at 1-0 in favour of TP Mazembe.

“Supporters of V.Club who were seated on one side of the stadium were not pleased with TP Mazembe’s victory over their team,” the source from the pitch said.

It said that they consequently, started throwing stones and other objects on the football pitch, forcing the referee to stop the game several times.

By the 90th minute, the score was still one to zero before the referee added five minutes.

It added that it was at this point that V.Club supporters threw more stones on the pitch.

However, the referee was forced to blow the final whistle even before the end of normal time.

Due to the rising tension, police officers decided to throw tear gas canisters on the side of V.Club supporters to disperse them.

Meanwhile, supporters of V.Club started seeking exit to leave the stadium and in the confusion that ensued, a section of the stadium wall collapsed and a gate was broken, resulting to deaths and injuries