Probe launched after 56 killed
Authorities in Mozambique were yesterday investigating whether locals were taking petrol from a tanker that exploded in the country's west killing at least 56 people and injuring more than 100.
Officials had originally put the death toll at 73 following the massive blast on Thursday in Tete province, in the country's remote western region near Malawi.
By yesterday, officials had counted 56 bodies in mortuaries as searching continued and three days of national mourning were announced.
"In the accident, 108 people were injured, 96 of whom are still being kept in for treatment at Tete Provincial Hospital," government spokesman Mouzinho Saide said at a press conference in Maputo.
Authorities suggested that residents may have been taking petrol after the vehicle had crashed or been abandoned by drivers who fled when they feared it could explode.
Photographs from the hospital in Tete showed badly burned children arriving for emergency care.
Hospital staffing has been reinforced to help deal with the large numbers of injured.
One local journalist told AFP the truck had crashed on Wednesday and exploded on Thursday afternoon as scores of people tried to syphon off fuel.
The government in Mozambique, one of the world's poorest countries, recently increased the price of fuel after the value of the local currency -- the metical -- fell sharply.
National mourning will be from Saturday until Monday.
Comments