Burn victims and their relatives sit inside a plane

The death toll has risen to 193 in South Sudan's fuel tanker explosion and the government has declared three days of mourning, Fox News reported.

Patrick Raphael Zamoi, the governor of Western Equatoria state where the explosion happened Wednesday, said the death toll rose Saturday as more patients succumbed to their wounds.

Hundreds of people had gathered to scoop gasoline from a leaking truck which had veered into a ditch outside Maridi town when the tank exploded under unclear circumstances.

The Ministry of Health made an urgent public appeal for blood donations to treat injured patients who were evacuated to the capital, Juba, for better care.

Source: MENA