Many dead in South Sudan oil tanker blast
At least 85 people have been killed after an oil tanker exploded in South Sudan, a presidential spokesman said, the BBC reports.
The tanker had veered off the road in Maridi, Western Equatoria state, and local residents were siphoning off the fuel when the vehicle exploded, Ateny Wek Ateny said.
Some reports are putting the death toll at over 100. At least 50 people are reported to have been injured.
The local hospitals are said to have been overwhelmed.
The tanker was travelling from the capital Juba to Maridi, some 250km (155 miles) away, when it came off the road.
Residents of nearby communities did what many people do after similar crashes in Africa, they rushed to scoop up the leaking fuel before it seeped away.