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Kabila pays respects to explosion victims

KINSHASA - The Democratic Republic of Congo's President Joseph Kabila yesterday visited the eastern town of Sange, where a fuel tanker blast and fire claimed 238 lives, his office said.

KINSHASA - The Democratic Republic of Congo's President Joseph Kabila yesterday visited the eastern town of Sange, where a fuel tanker blast and fire claimed 238 lives, his office said.

Kabila had earlier declared two days of mourning from yesterday. The tanker capsized and exploded on Friday in the town of 50000 people near the border with Burundi.

The death toll rose to 238 yesterday from 235 the previous day after the death of three severely injured victims, a local relief organisation spokesperson, Emmanuel Umbwe, said.

Most of the dead, including about 60 children and 30 women, were buried in three mass graves on Saturday in Sange.

Flames engulfed dozens of earth-and-straw homes. The fire spread to a cinema, where people were watching World Cup football. - Sapa-AFP

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