Red Cross workers carry an injured person after a tanker overturned and exploded in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, unleashing a fire ball that tore through homes and cinemas packed with people watching World Cup soccer.
At least 220 people have been killed after an oil tanker overturned and exploded in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday night.
The truck was carrying fuel from Tanzania when it flipped at high speed in the village of Sange, around 60 miles outside the regional capital Bukavu.
Red Cross official Desire Yuma said the death toll was likely to rise as workers continue to collect bodies from the scene.
Some people were killed by the explosion as they rushed to collect fuel leaking from the tanker, but authorities said most were killed by the fire that tore through nearby houses after the vehicle exploded.A further 100 people were injured in the blast.
United Nations helicopters have been airlifting injured people to hospital.
Marcellin Cisambo, governor of South Kivu province where the accident took place, said: ‘There was an accident when a truck overturned and petrol started coming out on all sides.
‘More than 200 people have died so far and about a hundred are injured -- seriously burned.
It was not immediately clear what caused the accident, which took place in Sange, on the road between the provincial capital Bukavu and Uvira, a town to the south on the border with Burundi.
Roads in the area are notoriously bad after years of war and neglect in the vast central African nation.
Jean-Claude Kibala, South Kivu's vice governor, said: ‘It's a terrible scene.
‘There are lots of dead bodies on the streets. The population is in terrible shock - no one is crying or speaking.
‘We are trying to see how we can coordinate with [the U.N.] to manage the situation and how to take the wounded to hospital,’ he added.
Witnesses said the explosion started a fire that tore through houses near the road.
Roads in the area are notoriously bad after years of war and neglect in the vast central African nation.
Jean-Claude Kibala, South Kivu's vice governor, said: ‘It's a terrible scene.
‘There are lots of dead bodies on the streets. The population is in terrible shock - no one is crying or speaking.
‘We are trying to see how we can coordinate with [the U.N.] to manage the situation and how to take the wounded to hospital,’ he added.
Witnesses said the explosion started a fire that tore through houses near the road.
Millions of football fans across Africa were watching Ghana, the continent's last team in the World Cup, play Uruguay in the quarterfinals of the tournament on Friday evening.
‘Some people were killed trying to steal the fuel, but most of the deaths were of people who were indoors watching the match,’ Cisambo said.
Congo's weak government has difficulty providing even the most basic services, so U.N. peacekeepers began airlifting some of the wounded to nearby hospitals and aid workers were called in to help with medical treatment.
‘The national Red Cross is working on collecting the bodies and taking them to the morgue, but the priority is obviously to take the wounded to the hospital,’ ICRC coordinator Inah Kaloga said.
Five UN peacekeepers were feared dead in the incident, but a spokesman said none of the mission's soldiers had been killed.
Madnodje Mounoubai, a spokesman for the UN mission that has peacekeepers in the region, said the UN force was investigating the blast.
‘Some people were killed trying to steal the fuel, but most of the deaths were of people who were indoors watching the match,’ Cisambo said.
Congo's weak government has difficulty providing even the most basic services, so U.N. peacekeepers began airlifting some of the wounded to nearby hospitals and aid workers were called in to help with medical treatment.
‘The national Red Cross is working on collecting the bodies and taking them to the morgue, but the priority is obviously to take the wounded to the hospital,’ ICRC coordinator Inah Kaloga said.
Five UN peacekeepers were feared dead in the incident, but a spokesman said none of the mission's soldiers had been killed.
Madnodje Mounoubai, a spokesman for the UN mission that has peacekeepers in the region, said the UN force was investigating the blast.
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