200-plus dead in tanker truck explosion in DR Congo
At least 200 people have been killed by an oil tanker truck explosion in a village in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the Red Cross. At least five of the dead are reported to be UN soldiers who tried to help.
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Dozens more were injured by the blast in the village of Sange, which took place after the lorry overturned and leaked oil.
The dead include not only people who had gathered to collect leaking oil but also many who were in their earth and straw homes.
Many of those who had surrounded the vehicle were children, according to an unnamed police officer based in the county town of Bukavu who blamed the accident on the lorry’s “excessive speed”.
The village is 70 kilometres south of Bukavu in Sud-Kivu.
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