Boat erupts in flames at Total Port in Bor. | Photo: Courtesy

Jonglei Police Commissioner said four people are critically injured after a boat carrying UN relief food caught fire at Total Port in Bor Town on Saturday.

The incident, according to Major General Elia Costa, the blaze occurred on June 10 while the workers were fueling the boat.

He said the boat loaded with 4,140 bags of sorghum was supposedly bound for Malakal of Upper Nile State when it erupted in flames.

“There is a commercial boat contracted by World Food Program to carry about 4, 140 bags of sorghum to Malakal, Upper Nile but unfortunately before the boat took off, it caught fire and burnt all the goods and the boat,” General Costa said.

Photos shared online show plumes of smoke billowing in the sky as the floating boat burns and gradually sinks in the bank of the Nile.

The boat containing cereals and barrels of fuel was fully burnt with the goods.

General Costa said four people aboard got burnt injuries – with two of them in critical condition.

He said the critically injured have been transferred to Juba for further medical attention while the two others are admitted to Bor Civil Hospital.

“Four victims were burnt by the fire. Their cases were very risky. They were taken to Bor Hospital and two were taken to Juba, so they are now in Juba there.”

Boat fires are commonly reported along the Nile River.

In 2021, a boat carrying fuel and other goods to Malakal in Upper Nile State caught fire and exploded at the Juba port near Gaabat. There were no causalities reported.