At least 33 Ugandans died and 20 sustained severe injuries after a fuel truck caught fire on the outskirts of Kampala on Saturday night.
Ugandan police say 29 people died on the spot and four others died later at Mulago National Referral Hospital.
The accident occurred around 9pm on the northern bypass road about 5km from Kampala city centre.
According to eye witness reports, a station wagon vehicle rammed into the rear of the fuel tanker and the impact damaged the tanker, resulting in a fuel leak.
Fire broke out as locals rushed to the scene of the accident to scoop fuel from the tanker.
It is still unclear what caused the fire, although it is believed to have been ignited by fumes from a motorcycle's exhaust pipe.
"I heard a loud explosion. Fire engulfed the tanker and several other vehicles near it," Mubarak Asimwe, who manages a stall near the scene of the accident.
"After the fire, many charred bodies were near the burnt tanker and vehicles."
Police spokesperson, Judith Nabakooba said "So far the death toll is 33. Twenty nine people died on the spot and four died in hospital.
"More than 20 others are still admitted in hospital in critical conditions. So far 18 bodies have been claimed by relatives".
She said that other bodies were burnt beyond recognition and DNA will be used to identify them.
Nabakooba called on relatives of missing people to report to police with photographs of the deceased and a DNA sample from a close relative.
This is not the first time people had died under such circumstances.
In October 2009, 20 people died in Nwoya District in northern Uganda, as they attempted to siphon fuel from a tanker that had been involved in an accident.
Other such deaths in recent years have occurred in Mukono and Bugiri districts, with the worst incident occurring in the 1990's when more than 100 people died as they collected fuel from an overturned tanker.
Tuesday 2 July 2013
http://www.theafricareport.com/East-Horn-Africa/dna-testing-to-identify-uganda-fuel-tanker-fire-victims.html
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