Africa

At least 19 dead after fuel truck clash in Uganda

At least 19 people were killed when a fuel truck exploded after losing control and ramming into three cars in western Uganda on Sunday, police said in a statement.

Early yesterday authorities said nine bodies had been retrieved from the crash site and transported to a nearby health centre “for further post-mortem analysis and DNA profiling”.

Another body was found trapped under the truck, police said.

Nine more people injured in the accident later died from their wounds, police spokesman Fred Enanga told Reuters yesterday morning.

The accident occurred at a small trading centre on a highway between the capital Kampala and Kasese town near the border with Democratic Republic of Congo.

Flames from the blast tore through at least 25 shops nearby.

Fatal road crashes are frequent in the East African country, often the result of lax law enforcement, poorly serviced vehicles and potholed roads.

At least 85 people died in neighbouring Tanzania on August 10 after a fuel tanker exploded in the town of Morogoro, as flames ripped through a crowd that had gathered to siphon petrol from it. –BBC

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