Congo explosion kills hundreds
Posted Jul 3, 2010 8:39 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
At least 230 people are dead and close to 200 injured after an oil tanker exploded in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The country’s Minister of Communications says five of the dead were United Nations peacekeepers, but an official with the U.N. mission is contradicting the report saying “No U.N. members were killed.”
A truck was carrying fuel from neighbouring Tanzania when it overturned at high speed late Friday in the remote village of Sange, around 100 kilometres outside the regional capital, Bukavu.
Radio Okapi reports some local residents had rushed to steal the leaking fuel when the vehicle exploded.
The tanker was ignited when one resident who was smoking a cigarette approached the taker, according to CNN.
The largest group of victims had been sitting in a bar near the accident site watching the world cup match between the Netherlands and Brazil.
