A 100 people have suffered second degree burns: Top offficial Kongo Central region (Representational)

About 50 people died and 100 were burnt on Saturday after an oil tanker collided with a vehicle on an arterial highway in the west of DR Congo, the acting governor of the region said.

"We have about 50 dead and a 100 people have suffered second degree burns," said Atou Matabuana, the interim governor of Kongo Central region, according to the actualite.cd website.

The accident occurred on a highway linking the capital Kinshasa to the country's sole port at Matadi on the Atlantic Ocean.

It took place near the city of Kisantu, about 120 kilometres (100 miles) west of Kinshasa. The UN's Okapi radio said "the flames spread rapidly engulfing nearby houses."

Overloaded trucks carrying goods as well as oil tankers regularly ply this highway.

Get Breaking news, live coverage, and Latest News from India and around the world on NDTV.com. Catch all the Live TV action on NDTV 24x7 and NDTV India. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram for latest news and live news updates.</s>Oct. 6 (UPI) -- A fuel tanker collision in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Saturday killed more than 50 and injured 100.

The tanker, which came from the capital city of Kinshasa, caught fire at Mbuba village, about 80 miles from the capital, Saturday morning after crashing into a parked truck, Atu Matubuana, interim governor of the province, said.

The fire spread quickly to nearby houses resulting in deaths and material damage.

The Mbuba village is in the Kongo Central Province near the city of Kisantu, between Kinshasa and the port of Matadi.

The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC, called MONUSCO, offered help, including nine emergency vehicles from Saint-Luc Hospital in Kisantu to help with medical evacuations.

"MONUSCO learned this morning with dismay that a road accident involving a tanker truck near the town of Kisantu [central Kongo] had killed dozens of people," a statement from Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary-General in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Leïla Zerrougui, said. "A hundred wounded is also to be deplored."</s>The accident has occurred on a highway linking the capital Kinshasa to the country's sole port at Matadi on the Atlantic Ocean

KINSHASA, DR Congo – About 50 people died and 100 were burnt on Saturday, October 6 after an oil tanker collided with a vehicle on an arterial highway in the west of Dominican Republic of the Congo, the acting governor of the region said.

"We have about 50 dead and a 100 people have suffered second degree burns," said Atou Matabuana, the interim governor of Kongo Central region, according to the actualite.cd website.

The accident occurred on a highway linking the capital Kinshasa to the country's sole port at Matadi on the Atlantic Ocean.

It took place near the city of Kisantu, about 120 kilometers (100 miles) west of Kinshasa. The UN's Okapi radio said "the flames spread rapidly engulfing nearby houses."

Overloaded trucks carrying goods as well as oil tankers regularly ply this highway. – Rappler.com</s>KINSHASA: About 50 people died and 100 were burnt on Saturday after an oil tanker collided with a vehicle on an arterial highway in the west of DR Congo, the acting governor of the region said.

"We have about 50 dead and a 100 people have suffered second degree burns," said Atou Matabuana, the interim governor of Kongo Central region, according to the actualite.cd website. The accident occurred on a highway linking the capital Kinshasa to the country´s sole port at Matadi on the Atlantic Ocean.

It took place near the city of Kisantu, about 120 kilometres west of Kinshasa. The UN´s Okapi radio said "the flames spread rapidly engulfing nearby houses." Overloaded trucks carrying goods as well as oil tankers regularly ply this highway.</s>(KINSHASA, Congo) — At least 50 people were killed on Saturday and more than 100 had second-degree burns when a tanker truck in Congo collided with a bus and, as villagers rushed to collect the leaking fuel, caught fire, witnesses and officials said.

“We deplore the deaths,” the interim governor of Kongo-Central province, Atu Matubuana, told The Associated Press. Officials were preparing to identify the charred bodies and bury them, Matubuana said.

The accident occurred in the village of Mbuba, not far from Kisantu city and about 200 kilometers (124 miles) southwest of the capital, Kinshasa. Kisantu is on the main highway between the capital and the country’s Matadi seaport.

Photos posted online by a local journalist show some of the injured, their skin raw from burns, piled into the back of a pickup truck and squeezed between people on a motorbike.

Health officials have been instructed to prepare local hospitals to “do everything necessary” to treat all of the victims, the interim governor said.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo said it had offered the government assistance for the injured, with nine ambulances en route to Kisantu to help with medical evacuations.

In 2010, more than 200 people were killed when a tanker truck overturned and burned in Congo’s South Kivu province. Many of the victims had been trying to collect the leaking fuel when it caught fire.</s>At least 50 people have been killed in a collision between a tanker and another truck in the western Democratic Republic of Congo.

Another 100 people were seriously injured, authorities say.

The tanker was on its way from the eastern city of Matadi to the national capital Kinshasa, said the governor of the Kongo Central province, Atou Matubwana.

It was initially unclear exactly why or how it collided with the truck.</s>At least 50 dead, 100 burned in Congo tanker truck fire

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — At least 50 people were killed and more than 100 were badly burned when a tanker truck in Congo collided with another truck and, as villagers rushed to collect the leaking fuel, burst into flames, witnesses and officials said Saturday.

Faced with one of the country's deadliest traffic accidents, President Joseph Kabila ordered three days of national mourning "in this particularly painful moment for the Congolese people."

The accident occurred overnight in the village of Mbuba, not far from Kisantu city and about 200 kilometers (124 miles) southwest of the capital, Kinshasa. The city is on the main highway between the capital and the country's Matadi seaport.

The fire quickly spread to nearby homes, Congo's health ministry said in a statement. An investigation was under way into the cause of the accident.

A photo tweeted by the ministry showed the blackened tanker, its front bumper torn aside and its windshield missing.

"The driver of the tanker truck has disappeared while the driver of the tractor trailer died at the scene," the ministry said. Twenty charred bodies had been recovered, and four other people died after arriving at a hospital.

"The toll continues to evolve," the statement said.

The interim governor of Kongo-Central province, Atu Matubuana, who shared the toll of at least 50 dead, said officials were identifying the bodies in preparation for burial.

Photos posted online by a local journalist showed some of the injured, their skin raw from burns, piled into the back of a pickup truck and squeezed between people on a motorbike as they sought aid.

"See under what conditions they are transported," the activist group LUCHA, which in English is known as Fight for Change, said of the photo in a Twitter post. "You can guess under what conditions they will be 'treated.' Shameful and revolving in the 21st century!"

As the country's health and transport ministers arrived, ambulances and mobile clinics rushed to the scene.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo said it had offered assistance for the injured, with nine ambulances en route to help with medical evacuations.

Congo's military was sending others, the health ministry said. Already 20 of the injured had been evacuated to the capital, it added.

Deadly traffic accidents are common in Congo, where roads and other infrastructure in the vast country are often poorly maintained.

In 2010, more than 200 people were killed when a tanker truck overturned and burned in South Kivu province at the other end of the country.

Again, many of the victims had been trying to collect the leaking fuel when it caught fire.</s>KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — At least 50 people were killed on Saturday and more than 100 had second-degree burns when a tanker truck in Congo collided with a bus and, as villagers rushed to collect the leaking fuel, caught fire, witnesses and officials said.

“We deplore the deaths,” the interim governor of Kongo-Central province, Atu Matubuana, told The Associated Press. Officials were preparing to identify the charred bodies and bury them, Matubuana said.

The accident occurred in the village of Mbuba, not far from Kisantu city and about 200 kilometers (124 miles) southwest of the capital, Kinshasa.

Kisantu is on the main highway between the capital and the country’s Matadi seaport.

Health officials have been instructed to prepare local hospitals to “do everything necessary” to treat all of the victims, the interim governor said.

In 2010, more than 200 people were killed when a tanker truck overturned and burned in Congo’s South Kivu province. Many of the victims had been trying to collect the leaking fuel when it caught fire.</s>Authorities in the DR Congo estimate that at least 50 people have been killed with a further 100 receiving second degree burns, after an oil tanker collided with another vehicle before bursting into flames, AFP reports. The incident took place near the city of Kisantu, along a main highway which links the capital Kinshasa to the country's sole port at Matadi on the Atlantic Ocean. Many of the injuries occurred as flames from the crash “spread rapidly engulfing nearby houses,” the UN’s Okapi radio said. Oil tankers and trucks overloaded with goods are a regular scene on the highway.</s>KINSHASA, Congo (AP) - Officials in Congo say at least 50 people are dead and more than 100 have second-degree burns after a tanker truck caught fire.

The interim governor of Kongo-Central province tells The Associated Press that officials are making preparations to identify the charred bodies and bury them.

The accident occurred Saturday in the village of Mbuba, not far from Kisantu city and about 200 kilometers (124 miles) southwest of the capital, Kinshasa.

Witnesses say the tanker truck collided with a bus and when the fuel began to leak, villagers rushed to collect it. Then the fire broke out.
At least 50 people are killed and 100 others are injured after an oil tank truck collides with a vehicle on the Kinshasa—Matadi highway in Kisantu, Democratic Republic of the Congo.