Police: 29 killed in Uganda gas tanker explosion

A car crashed into a moving gas tanker, sparking a fire that killed at least 29 people and left scores more badly burned, Ugandan police said on Sunday. Police spokesman Ibn Senkumbi said the gas tanker exploded after colliding with a passenger car late Saturday on the outskirts of the Ugandan capital, Kampala. He said the gas tanker had been knocked from behind by a car. Gas started leaking, he said, and some passenger motorcyclists stalked the tanker after the driver abandoned it. Then suddenly the gas tanker went up in flames that engulfed nearby cars and scores of people who had swarmed around the vehicle, AP reported. "Some people noticed the flow of fuel and they came for it," he said. "In the process there was an explosion. The tanker exploded, killing 29 people on the spot." At least 29 others were left badly burned, he said. On Sunday morning, police were still looking for dead bodies in a nearby swamp where many of the victims had run to douse themselves after catching fire.