Fuel tanker blast kills 57 in Tanzania

57 people have died and 65 others injured after a fuel tanker exploded in Tanzania on Saturday.

Many of the victims were siphoning petrol from the vehicle, which had crashed, state broadcaster TBC Taifa said.

The explosion occurred around 200 km (120 miles) west of the capital Dar es Salaam.

“We have been saddened by reports of an accident involving a fuel truck in Morogoro, which caught fire and burnt several people,” government spokesman Hassan Abbasi said on Twitter.

Witnesses in Morogoro, which lies about 120 miles (200 kilometres) from Tanzania’s economic hub of Dar es Salaam, told The Associated Press that scores of people had gathered around the fuel tanker after it was involved in an accident early Saturday. They said people were trying to siphon away fuel when the tanker burst into flames.

Steven Kabwe, Regional Police Commissioner told local Azam TV that 57 bodies have been recovered while many others who suffered burns were receiving treatment.

Incidents of people being killed explosions while stealing fuel from damaged fuel tankers are common in East Africa.