This is one of the worst accidents in East Africa in recent years. In Tanzania, on the outskirts of Morogoro (about 200 kilometers from Dar es Salaam), more than 60 people were killed and more than 70 were injured in the explosion, Saturday, August 10, of an accident tanker truck which they were trying to siphon the fuel
"There are 62 dead, 58 men and four women, and 72 wounded - 64 men and 8 women - at the Morogoro hospital," Liberatus Sabas, the chief of operations of the Tanzanian police.
Most of the victims were motorcycle taxi drivers and people from around them who had run to collect fuel escaping from the tank.
The facts took place around 8:30 (5:30 GMT) in the municipality of Msamvu, in the immediate vicinity of Morogoro.
After the truck overturned on the roadway, drivers of "boda-boda" - motorcycle taxis - flocked to the scene and tried to recover fuel, followed by residents of the commune. A video posted on social networks shows dozens of onlookers busy trying to recover fuel in yellow jerricans.
The gasoline then ignited. On a video shot soon after, we see bodies of victims charred, like petrified, rubbing ground personal effects and motorcycle carcasses.
"Remove the battery from the vehicle"
According to the governor, by the time people filled their cans with fuel, a man tried to pull the battery from the truck, causing the explosion. An explanation corroborated by several witnesses.
"We arrived at the scene, with two neighbors, just after the truck overturned," reported January Michael, a young teacher joined by AFP. "While some good Samaritans were trying to get the driver and the other two people out of the truck, others jostled themselves with jerrycans to collect gasoline."
"At the same time, someone was trying to tear the battery out of the vehicle," he added. "We warned that the truck could explode at any moment but no one wanted to hear us, so we continued on our way, but as soon as we turned our heels we heard the explosion."
Long live emotion in the country
Artists, sportspeople, politicians and ordinary citizens have multiplied the messages of compassion to the victims, while the drama provoked a strong emotion throughout the country.
"I send my condolences to all those affected, especially the families of the victims, and I pray to God that these victims rest in peace and the wounded recover quickly," Tanzanian President John Magufuli said in a statement released by the Presidency.
The head of state said he was "very shocked that people are rushing on damaged vehicles to loot their cargo".
"There are vehicles that carry dangerous fuel as in this case, Morogoro," he said. "There are others that carry toxic chemicals or explosives - let's stop this habit, please."
Tragedies that are not uncommon
According to the governor of Morogoro, all the doctors of the regional hospital were mobilized and patients, whose condition does not inspire concern, were transferred to other institutions to make room for victims of the disease. 'explosion.
This type of tragedy is not uncommon on the continent. Already in early July in central Nigeria, at least 45 people have died and more than 100 have been injured in the looting by the population of an accidental tanker that exploded.
The tank caught fire when a bus loaded with passengers attempted to pass. His muffler, scraping the ground, caused sparks that then ignited the fuel.
At the beginning of May, it was in Niger that a similar disaster took place, carrying nearly 80 people. The driver of the tanker truck, which contained 50,000 liters of fuel, had explained to the investigators that he had run into all the controls on his machine, including the brakes.
The truck lay on the roadway as he tried to stop, just a few hundred yards from Niamey International Airport. Once again, local residents had tried to siphon the tank that had finally burned.
Among the deadliest of these are the Maridi disaster 300km west of Juba, South Sudan, which killed 203 people in 2015; and that of Sange, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where 292 people died in 2010.
With AFP