JUBA: At least 85 people were killed and 50 others injured in South Sudan when a crowd tried to gather fuel from an oil tanker that had slipped off the road on its way to a region west of the capital Juba.
The presidential spokesman said on Thursday that the incident took place on Wednesday as the truck was traveling to South’s Sudan’s Western Equatoria region.
“Eight-five people are confirmed dead by the local authorities,” Ateny Wek Ateny, presidential spokesman said and added that about 50 people were seriously injured.
Ateny said Wednesday’s incident was not related to the conflict. “This was an accident,” he said, adding the tanker had veered off the road and later exploded with a crowd around it.
