At least one person was killed early Friday morning after an overturned petrol tanker exploded in Nyamasheke, a district about 240 Km from Kigali in southwestern Rwanda, a senior local administrative official in the region confirmed to APA.
“There were no immediate reports of injuries,” the Mayor of Nyamasheke district, Aime Fabien Kamari said.
Authorities believe the explosion took place after the tanker which was heading to Bukavu, in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) flipped over near a petrol station as the driver lost control of the vehicle.
People had gathered around the crashed tanker, with some attempting to salvage fuel, witnesses told APA.
Scores of people have died in similar accidents earlier this month in neighboring Tanzania as they risked their lives to scoop fuel leaking from pipelines or trucks.
A similar accident in Mozambique in November 2016 claimed at least 73 lives when a truck exploded in the town of Caphiridzange as people gathered to siphon fuel.
CU/as/APA