- Uganda fuel truck explosion kills 11
- Austria's Grand Slam winner Thiem ends career cheered on by home crowd
- Union sees 'tight' vote on contract to end Boeing strike
- Reijnders fires AC Milan to first Champions League points with Club Brugge double
- Record-breaking Liverpool vow to improve against Leipzig
- Uganda fuel truck explosion kills at least 10
- Forest owner Marinakis banned for spitting towards officials
- ECB chief Lagarde invites Trump to visit after central bank criticism
- Blinken urges Israel to reach Gaza truce, allow more aid
- As Trump touts tariffs, Yellen says US has rejected 'isolationism'
- Argentina prosecutors deny releasing Liam Payne toxicology tests
- India, China and S.Africa leaders bolster Putin at key summit
- Windfall tax backlash menaces Spain's green energy sector
- England winger Gordon signs Newcastle contract extension
- Ex-Abercrombie CEO charged with sex crimes
- US plans to contribute $20 bn for Ukraine loan: Yellen
- Critically endangered whale species rebounds slightly
- US interest rate, election uncertainty hit stock market sentiment
- Russian dissident Navalny's memoir published worldwide
- Strong auto prices lift GM results as it eyes China revamp
- 'Dutchman' Hirscher to step out of retirement in Soelden
- UN eyes modest 2024 maritime trade growth, but future uncertain
- 70% of Cuba's population has power back after blackout
- Families separated by front line in Russia's Kursk region
- India, China and S.Africa leaders underpin Putin at key summit
- Navalny memoirs spark mix of curiosity, indifference in Moscow
- Modi calls for quick end to Ukraine conflict in talks with Putin
- Ukraine peace talks, NATO invite may hinge on US elections, Zelensky says
- Leipzig players 'not yet talking' about Klopp, says Openda before Liverpool tie
- IMF predicts slightly slower global growth in 2024 and 2025
- US interest rate, election uncertainy hit stock market sentiment
- Guardiola applauds Man City mentality ahead of Sparta Prague test
- San Siro saga continues as Inter and AC Milan propose new stadium project
- French luxury brand Chanel to sponsor Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race
- Flick calm despite Barca's dire Bayern record
- Kenya court hears challenge to deputy leader's impeachment
- Women footballers call on FIFA to drop Saudi Aramco as sponsor
- Mozambican opposition leader says security forces killed his lawyer
- Modi calls for quick end to Ukraine conflict in meeting with Putin
- Stock markets diverge tracking US outlook
- Snyman returns for Springboks' November internationals
- Bangladesh battle at 101-3 as South Africa threaten innings defeat
- Over 250 women in talks with Harrods over Al-Fayed claims
- England pick Ahmed as third spinner for deciding Pakistan Test
- Verreynne century puts South Africa on top, Bangladesh 19-2 at tea
- Navalny's tomb 'covered with fresh flowers every day': widow
- Schauffele targets more success in Japan after major breakthroughs
- Rare Tintin albums go under the hammer in Paris
- Blinken in Israel to push for Gaza truce
- Most markets fall as traders weigh US rates outlook
Uganda fuel truck explosion kills at least 10
A fuel truck ran out of control and exploded into flames near the Ugandan capital on Tuesday, killing at least 10 people, a local official told AFP.
The impoverished East African country has witnessed several similar disasters in recent years as people rushed to steal fuel from tankers involved in road accidents.
Tuesday's blast occurred on a highway in the town of Kigogwa, about 25 kilometres (15 miles) north of Kampala.
"The fuel tanker lost control and overturned," said Charles Lwanga, resident district commissioner for the area.
"This is a busy area and people nearby came to siphon fuel from the fuel tanker but it exploded killing at least 10 people and several people are injured," he added.
Images from the scene showed yellow police tape around the charred wreck of the tanker while forensic specialists and emergency responders inspected nearby homes destroyed in the blast.
- Investigations under way -
The incident took place just days after a fuel tanker exploded in northern Nigeria on October 15, killing more than 170 people.
"Investigations are under way. Rescue and emergencies are on the scene and the fire prevention service from the police have controlled the fire," Lwanga told AFP.
Ambulances rushed to the scene to take the injured to hospital, Lwanga told reporters, adding that firefighters had prevented the flames from reaching a nearby petrol station.
Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesman Patrick Onyango said in a statement on X that the fuel tanker overturned and caught fire at 3 pm (1200 GMT).
"A multi-agency response team swiftly responded," he added.
The town lies on the road between Kampala and the town of Bombo, where the Uganda Land Forces have their headquarters.
In August 2019, 19 people died when a fuel truck barrelled into other vehicles in the busy town of Kyambura in western Uganda and exploded.
And in 2013, 33 people died in a blast after a fuel truck overturned in Kampala.
Uganda imports an average of 2.5 billion litres of petroleum a year, according to local media reports.
It is currently developing oil fields in the Lake Albert area of northwestern Uganda in a controversial mega-project with TotalEnergies of France and China's state-run CNOOC.
The $10 billion project -- which also involves building a 1,443-kilometre (900-mile) heated pipeline to ship the crude to Tanzania -- has come under fire from rights groups and environmental campaigners.
Uganda's veteran President Yoweri Museveni says the oil is vital to help economic development in the country, where the poverty rate stood at about 20 percent, according to government figures for 2020/21.
F.Pedersen--AMWN