Deaths 230 | Non-fatal injuries 196 | |
 | ||
Date 2 July 2010 (2010-07-02) Location Sange village, South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo | ||
The 2010 South Kivu road tanker explosion took place late in the afternoon of 2 July 2010 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A road tanker travelling from Tanzania overturned in the village of Sange in South Kivu, and later exploded, resulting in at least 230 deaths and 196 injured.
Contents
Crash
The tanker overturned in the village of Sange, near the Congo-Burundi border. Mende Omalanga, the Democratic Republic of Congo's Minister of Communications, claimed that the tanker was trying to overtake a bus. A local police officer reported that the driver was traveling at an "excessive speed".
Explosion
An explosion occurred as villagers attempted to collect the fuel that was spilling from the overturned vehicle. "There was a crush (of people) and a petrol leak". Omalanga said that one local resident was smoking a cigarette, a spark from which ignited the fuel. Many mud and grass huts were destroyed in the subsequent fire.
Among the dead were 36 women and 61 children. Some of the injured had severe burn wounds. A medical source said that the local hospitals "do not have necessary logistical materials to treat those who are seriously injured".
The United Nations are investigating the explosion. It was initially reported that five of the dead were United Nations peacekeepers, but this was reported later as being incorrect.