The spokesperson of National Police Service says five people have been confirmed dead after a fuel tanker exploded in a suburb in Juba on Sunday night.

The tanker is said to have first knocked a boda-boda rider in Shirkat suburb, and later rammed into makeshift shops. The driver lost control after knocking the boda-boda motorcycle forcing the tanker carrying diesel to veer off the road into a bar, where it exploded.

An eyewitness, Imana Alem told Eye Radio that the tanker was on a high speed before it hit the boda-boda from the back.

“I saw it was a fuel tank coming with speed, and the driver didn’t want to stop, and so he knocked the motorcycle. I was inside my shop and saw the fire and I ran out from the back door,” says Imana.

Another eyewitness, Boni James said he saw the tanker had a flat tire.

“I was drinking my alcohol here, the vehicle came, it tire got puncture, and it enter into the bar and knocked the people and the fire exploded,” said Boni.

Boni said he escaped with one person, but wasn’t certain about the whereabouts of the bar’s owner.

The Police spokesperson, Daniel Justin said many shops were burned from the inferno caused by the explosion.

“There was a fuel tank coming from Nimule…so far we have five people who died,” said Justin.

The commissioner of Rajaf County Martin Wani Jangara blamed the accident on over speeding. He said most drivers do not slow down in overcrowded or busy streets.

“Of course, this incident is a result of a driver not listening. The driver was driving with a high speed although the road is congested with people, cars and motorcycles,” said Wani.

Police say they are still investigating the incident. One of the shopkeepers said he lost goods worth more than 300,000 pounds, but officials are yet to establish the extent of the damage.

A similar incident involving a fuel tanker explosion happened on Saturday, December 10th along Nairobi – Naivasha highway in Kenya. A tanker hit a bump before it rammed into a vehicle in front and other vehicles before it burst into flames, and killing over 30 people.

The driver of the tanker lost control and hit the other vehicle which created chain of knocks..