The death toll in Saturday’s oil tanker explosion has increased to 69 from earlier reported 57, official records have clarified, reported Africa News.
“We currently mourn 69 deaths, the last victim died during evacuation while being transferred by helicopter to the National Hospital in Dar es Salaam,” said Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa while speaking to residents in the town of Morogoro, where the incident happened. “The wounded are now 66.”
He announced that a special commission would be established to investigate if any management failures had contributed to the disaster.
According to officials, a fuel tanker overturned on the road in Morogoro, 175 kilometers (109 miles) west of Dar es Salaam. Notably, the city of Morogoro is on a major route for transporting cargo and fuel from the port.
It was when people were trying to collect fuel from the vehicle that it exploded. The explosion took place around 8:30 a.m. local time (1:30 a.m. ET).
An eyewitness said the speeding truck was trying to avoid a motorcycle on the main road when the driver lost control and it overturned. It is reported that there were more than 150 people at the scene when the truck exploded around 20 minutes after the accident.
The injured with serious burns were immediately airlifted to Muhimbili, Tanzania’s biggest hospital in Dar es Salaam, while others were sent in ambulances.
The deadly blast is the latest in a series of similar disasters in Africa. Tanzania’s President John Magufuli on Saturday declared three days of mourning and pleaded people to stop risking their lives by siphoning fuel from broken-down tankers.
“There are vehicles that carry dangerous fuel oil, as in this case in Morogoro, there are others that carry toxic chemicals or explosives, let’s stop this practice, please,” the President told AFP news agency.
