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Uganda Tanker Blast: 30 people Dead as Dozens Injured in Deadly Blast in Kampala / Africa News

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Police officials in the Ugandan capital have said that 30 people have been killed as many injured after a car crashed into a fuel tanker parked by a nearby roadside.

Police spokesman Ibn Senkumbi said on Sunday that the truck exploded late on Saturday a few miles north of the capital Kampala after it had stopped by the roadside and another vehicle crashing on it.

“Some people noticed the flow of fuel and they came for it, the tanker exploded, killing 30 people on the spot’’, Mr. Senkumbi said.

Eyewitnesses say many of those who died had rushed to the scene on the main road to collect the fuel which was spilling initially when it had not exploded.

The tanker then exploded as the victims were busily collecting the petrol from the scene resulting in this many deaths and injuries.

Police were however not able to give the exact number of people who were injured in the accident.

The practice of taking fuel from accident petrol tanker is very common in Africa and many die in that circumstance across the continent.

The Ugandan minister for disaster preparedness, Musa Ecweru was quoted by the Daily Monitor newspaper as describing the incident as an avoidable calamity.

“We have always told our people to stay away from trucks that involve inflammable products such as petrol, we thought they would learn from the lessons of the past’’, Mr. Ecweru said

He further stated that it was unfortunate that some people had failed to learn from past mistakes in similar accidents that have caused deaths and injuries in the past.

There were reports that relatives of the victims had gathered at Mulago Hospital mortuary to identify their relatives who were among the dead.

But Visitors were being turned away by police and security officials who said doctors and nurses there had been overwhelmed by the number of casualties from the explosion.

President Yoweri Museveni was said to be on a visit to nearby Tanzania but sent his condolences and said he was monitoring the work of police and medical workers.

In 2001, a similar accident happened on a highway from Kampala to the western region, leaving nearly 40 people dead.

Issaka Adams / NationalTurk Africa News

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