A fuel truck
ran out of control and exploded into flames near the Ugandan capital on
Tuesday, killing 11 people, including two minors, police said.
The
impoverished East African country has witnessed several similar disasters in
recent years as people rushed to steal fuel from tankers involved in road
accidents.
Ugandan
police said the latest tragedy struck at 3 pm (1200 GMT) when the tanker
overturned and caught fire in the town of Kigogwa, about 25 kilometres (15
miles) north of Kampala.
Eleven people
died, including two minors, the
Uganda Police Force said in a statement on X, adding: "The
victims were burnt beyond recognition."
The incident
took place just days after a fuel tanker exploded in northern Nigeria on
October 15, killing more than 170 people.
Images from
the scene in Kigogwa showed yellow police tape around the charred wreck of the
tanker while forensic specialists and emergency responders inspected nearby
properties destroyed in the blast.
Bukenya
Jefferson 29, a shopkeeper at Kigogwa Trading Centre who witnessed the blast,
said fuel started to spill onto the road after the vehicle rolled over.
"People
rushed to the truck. Some people had begun taking fuel in cans. Then we heard a
loud sound and smoke started coming towards us," he told AFP.
"We were
confused and saw everyone running and I ran, then saw smoke increasing."
Shops
destroyed
The police
statement said the tanker was travelling from Kampala to Gulu in northern
Uganda, a journey of about 650 kilometres.
"Unfortunately,
people who rushed to siphon fuel from the tanker were the most affected,"
it said.
Four
buildings housing nine shops were destroyed in the blaze, it added, saying
property worth millions of Ugandan shillings was lost.
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"This
tragic incident serves as a reminder of the risks associated with fuel tanker
accidents and the importance of exercising caution when dealing with hazardous
materials."
Charles
Lwanga, a resident district commissioner for the area, told AFP that
investigations were underway.
He also told
reporters that firefighters had brought the blaze under control, preventing the
flames from reaching a nearby petrol station.
The town lies
on the road between Kampala and the town of Bombo, where the Uganda Land Forces
have their headquarters.
Mega oil
project
In August
2019, 19 people died when a fuel truck barrelled into other vehicles in the
busy town of Kyambura in western Uganda and exploded.
In 2002, 70
people were killed when an oil truck
rammed into a bus in Rutoto, less than 50 kilometres (30 miles) from
Kyambura.
And in 2013,
33 people died in a blast after a fuel truck overturned in Kampala.
Uganda
imports an average of 2.5 billion litres of petroleum a year, according to
local media reports.
It is
currently developing oil fields in the Lake Albert area of northwestern Uganda
in a controversial mega-project with TotalEnergies of France and China's
state-run CNOOC.
The $10
billion project -- which also involves building a 1,443-kilometre (900-mile)
heated pipeline to ship the crude to Tanzania -- has come under fire from
rights groups and environmental campaigners.
Uganda's
veteran President Yoweri Museveni says the oil is vital to help economic
development in the country, where the poverty rate stood at about 20 per cent
in 2020-21, according to government figures.