KAMPALA, Uganda
At least 11 people were killed Tuesday after a fuel truck exploded next to a highway in Uganda, police said. Two children were among the dead.
The truck overturned after an
accident and later exploded in a town just outside Kampala, the capital, police
spokesman Patrick Onyango said.
“The victims were burnt beyond
recognition,” he said in a statement. A cloud of dark smoke rose from the
scene.
A video shared online by an
onlooker appeared to show people scooping up fuel from the truck before the
blast. The dangerous scene echoed a similar incident in Nigeria
last week that killed more than 140 people, including children.
People who rush to collect
fuel from stricken trucks hope to sell it, despite warnings to stay away.
“This tragic incident serves
as a reminder of the risks associated with fuel tanker accidents and the
importance of exercising caution when dealing with hazardous materials,”
Onyango said.
There have been similar
incidents over the years across East Africa. At least 62 people
were killed in Tanzania in 2019 as they attempted to siphon fuel out
of a damaged truck.
In South Sudan, at
least 183 people were killed in 2015 when hundreds of villagers
gathered around a fuel truck to collect fuel.
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