More than 50 killed, 100 injured in Congo tanker collision

Oct. 6 (UPI) — A fuel tanker collision in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Saturday killed more than 50 and injured 100.

The tanker, which came from the capital city of Kinshasa, caught fire at Mbuba village, about 80 miles from the capital, Saturday morning after crashing into a parked truck, Atu Matubuana, interim governor of the province, said.

The fire spread quickly to nearby houses resulting in deaths and material damage.

The Mbuba village is in the Kongo Central Province near the city of Kisantu, between Kinshasa and the port of Matadi.

The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC, called MONUSCO, offered help, including nine emergency vehicles from Saint-Luc Hospital in Kisantu to help with medical evacuations.

“MONUSCO learned this morning with dismay that a road accident involving a tanker truck near the town of Kisantu [central Kongo] had killed dozens of people,” a statement from Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary-General in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Leïla Zerrougui, said. “A hundred wounded is also to be deplored.”