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At least 73 killed in fuel truck explosion in Mozambique | At least 73 killed in fuel truck explosion in Mozambique |
(35 minutes later) | |
At least 73 were killed and another 110 suffered severe burns when a truck carrying petrol blew up in Mozambique, the country's government has said. | At least 73 were killed and another 110 suffered severe burns when a truck carrying petrol blew up in Mozambique, the country's government has said. |
"The incident occurred when citizens tried to take petrol from a truck" in the village of Caphiridzange in Tete province, near Malawi, the government said in a statement. | |
The government added that 110 people were injured, some of them critically. | |
Children were among the wounded, it said. | |
"Ambulances and medical personnel were deployed to the scene in order to assist the victims. The injured were evacuated to Tete hospital," the government statement said. | "Ambulances and medical personnel were deployed to the scene in order to assist the victims. The injured were evacuated to Tete hospital," the government statement said. |
Authorities are probing whether the truck was selling petrol when it exploded, or whether it had been ambushed by residents, information ministry director Joao Manasses told the AFP news agency. | |
A local journalist told AFP the truck had crashed on Wednesday and exploded Thursday afternoon, as scores of people tried to siphon off fuel. | A local journalist told AFP the truck had crashed on Wednesday and exploded Thursday afternoon, as scores of people tried to siphon off fuel. |
The government "deplores the loss of life... and is currently providing the necessary assistance in order to save lives and to comfort the victims' families," it said. | |
Three ministers are due to arrive at the scene on Friday in order to monitor the rescuers' work. | |
Mozambique is one of the world's poorest nations, according to the International Monetary Fund, and since its civil war ended in 1992 its population has suffered the consequences of a terrible economic crisis. | Mozambique is one of the world's poorest nations, according to the International Monetary Fund, and since its civil war ended in 1992 its population has suffered the consequences of a terrible economic crisis. |
The government recently increased the price of fuel, after the value of the local currency - named metical - sunk against the dollar. | The government recently increased the price of fuel, after the value of the local currency - named metical - sunk against the dollar. |
Tete province was also hit by another tragedy in January 2015, when 75 people died from intoxication after drinking traditional beer. |