South Sudan Oil Truck Blast Kills At Least 85

South Sudan, which officially broke away from Sudan in 2011 and has been mired in conflict since December 2013, has no tarmac roads and fuel tankers have to travel along potholed surfaces through desperately poor communities.

Ateny said the injured were taken to local hospitals which are overwhelmed.

50 others were injured in the blast.

The commissioner of Maradi county, Wilson Thomas Yanga, said that while the driver went to the nearest town for help, local residents descended on the tanker to collect some of the petrol.

The vehicle was on its way to a region west of the capital Juba, the presidential spokesman said on Thursday.

‘People are still dying; they have not assessed the exact number in the hospital, ‘ Zamoi said.

At least 100 people are dead after an oil tanker exploded as people were crowding around it and trying to siphon off fuel.

Medics are “not really able to calm down this pain”, Savior told the radio station.

Around 100 people have died in South Sudan when a truck carrying petrol exploded, officials have told Al Jazeera.

More than 2 million people have fled their homes in a war marked by the use of child soldiers and gang rapes.

Rebels and the government signed a peace deal in August, although the ceasefire has already been violated.