73 killed in Mozambique fuel-truck blast

At least 73 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in Mozambique after an overturned truck exploded, the government said.

The truck was transporting fuel to Malawi from the port city of Beira on Thursday when the accident occurred, the government said in a statement.

The injured were been taken to hospital about 90km away and a government team was due to travel to the area in Tete province, some 2,000km from the capital Maputo on Friday.

“Ambulances and medical personnel were deployed to the scene in order to assist the victims. The injured were evacuated to Tete hospital,” it said.

The precise circumstances of the explosion remained unclear. Authorities were trying to determine whether the truck was selling petrol when it exploded, or whether it had been ambushed by residents, information ministry director João Manasses said.

A local journalist reported that the truck had crashed on Wednesday and exploded on Thursday afternoon, as scores of people tried to siphon off fuel.

The government recently increased the price of fuel, after the value of the metical, the local currency, sunk against the dollar.

Three ministers were reportedly due to arrive at the scene on Friday in order to monitor the rescuers' work.