20100704
africanews

Over 200 people are reported to have been killed with more than 100 wounded in a fuel tanker explosion in eastern Congo in the night of last Friday.

Many of the victims are said to have rushed to siphon leaking liquid from the vehicle illegally.

The truck was reported to be transporting fuel when it overturned at high speed near the village of Sange, around 20 miles (30 kilometers) north of the town of Uvira near the Burundi border. Sange is located between Uvira and the Congolese provincial capital, Bukavu, further to the north.

A spokesman of the UN peacekeeping mission is quoted as saying after the accident "people came out and tried to siphon the contents of the tanker."

"A fire started, and the people trying to siphon the fuel were killed or injured. Right now, we are talking about 220 dead and 111 wounded, but this is not the final toll. This is a very fluid situation," Mounoubai said.