Fuel tanker explodes while awaiting clearance in Nebbi

Two vehicles and five houses have been set alight after a fuel tanker burst into flames at Goli Customs in Nebbi District on Friday morning.
The tanker was awaiting clearance in order to proceed to the neighbouring DR Congo. The driver of the tanker reportedly fled the scene when the incident happened.
According to an eye witness, the tanker burst into flames after the driver tried to apply brakes but due to much heat caused by the friction, a fire was ignited hence the explosion.
“I just heard a loud sound of an explosion as we slept at around 3am. We had to run out of the house only to find the truck already in flames,” he said.
Confirming the incident, the Nebbi District LC5 Chairman, Mr Emmanuel Urombi, told Daily Monitor that five houses, including two huts belonging to police caught fire as well.
“About 50 children ran in disarray from their houses and we intercepted some as far as Nebbi Town. The situation is not good because people have lost a lot of their household property when their houses also caught fire,” he said.
Mr Urombi said another truck and a coaster that had parked by the roadside also waiting for clearance to proceed to Mahagi Town in DR Congo also got burnt.
“There has been no death case reported but we also rescued a seven month-old baby from one of the houses. We are still ascertaining the extent of the damage. But the scene is bad,” Mr Urombi said.
The police fire fighters were still working around the clock to put out the raging fire at the time of filing this story.
Last year, some drivers were unhappy with the slow pace of clearance at Goli customs by the Customs officers that forces vehicles to queue over 100 meters, which they said was a recipe for such accidents.