SOUTH SUDAN: More than 170 people reported dead after fuel tanker explosion
More than
100 people are reported to have been killed after a fuel tanker exploded on
Wednesday in Maridi County of Western Equatoria State in South Sudan.
100 people are reported to have been killed after a fuel tanker exploded on
Wednesday in Maridi County of Western Equatoria State in South Sudan.
Information
from the place noted that local hospitals had been flabbergasted by the injured
people and that they do not have medical equipment and some basic medical
supplies like oxygen and pain killers.
from the place noted that local hospitals had been flabbergasted by the injured
people and that they do not have medical equipment and some basic medical
supplies like oxygen and pain killers.
A local
doctor said that they were running out of basic medical supplies like oxygen
and pain killers.
doctor said that they were running out of basic medical supplies like oxygen
and pain killers.
According to
local officials, the vehicle was “full of petrol” which started to leak after
the crash.
local officials, the vehicle was “full of petrol” which started to leak after
the crash.
The driver
is reported to have walked to the next village to ask for help and locals began
siphoning the fuel. There are however
conflicting reports on the cause of the explosion; one source told Radio
Bakhita in Juba that the incident happened when one person lit cigarette near
an overturned petrol tanker where people gathered to harvest the oozing fuel,
while some media reports indicated that some SPLA members fired into the air to
scare away people who were harvesting fuel from the overturned vehicle only to
cause explosion and death of civilians and soldiers.
is reported to have walked to the next village to ask for help and locals began
siphoning the fuel. There are however
conflicting reports on the cause of the explosion; one source told Radio
Bakhita in Juba that the incident happened when one person lit cigarette near
an overturned petrol tanker where people gathered to harvest the oozing fuel,
while some media reports indicated that some SPLA members fired into the air to
scare away people who were harvesting fuel from the overturned vehicle only to
cause explosion and death of civilians and soldiers.
The
spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in the South
Sudanese capital of Juba, Layal Horanieh said that the aid group had sent two
burn kits to Maridi, each with enough equipment to treat at least 50 patients.
spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in the South
Sudanese capital of Juba, Layal Horanieh said that the aid group had sent two
burn kits to Maridi, each with enough equipment to treat at least 50 patients.
Deadly fuel
tanker explosions are common in East Africa, where poor residents living near
highways converge around fuel tankers involved in accidents to steal gasoline and
then sell it. Similar incident happen in Kenya in the year 2009 when a total of
100 people were killed after a fuel tanker burst into flames two hours after it
overturned at Sachangwan trading centre along the Nakuru-Eldoret Highway.
tanker explosions are common in East Africa, where poor residents living near
highways converge around fuel tankers involved in accidents to steal gasoline and
then sell it. Similar incident happen in Kenya in the year 2009 when a total of
100 people were killed after a fuel tanker burst into flames two hours after it
overturned at Sachangwan trading centre along the Nakuru-Eldoret Highway.
Source: CRN and News Agencies
