4 Jul 2010

Mass burial held after tanker explosion

10:03 pm on 4 July 2010

The charred bodies of some of the people killed when a fuel tanker exploded in the Democratic Republic of Congo, have been buried in mass graves.

The tanker overturned and caught fire as people scavenged fuel from it in the village of Sange, near the border with Burundi, on Friday night.

At least 230 people were killed. Officials say the fire also injured almost 200 people.

The BBC reports some of those who died were trying to collect leaking fuel, but others were trapped inside buildings, including a cinema, by the blaze.

The truck, travelling from Tanzania, overturned and began leaking fuel.

Homes with thatched roofs were engulfed in flames, as was a cinema where a crowd had gathered to watch the World Cup.

Accidents involving tanker fires are not uncommon in the region and the death toll is often high.