HUYE- A petrol tanker lost control and swerved off the road on Thursday night, igniting an inferno that left several people and crops burnt in Maraba Sector, Huye district.

The driver of the tanker was burnt beyond recognition and 11 residents of Maraba who tried to put out the fire got burnt.

The victims were admitted at Butare University Teaching Hospital with serious injuries.

The truck from Kigali bore Kenyan number plate KAY336 and its two passengers were both Kenyans. Samuel Kingengelitch Karos, the co-driver, survived the accident.

Eye witnesses said that they rushed to the scene shortly after the accident but the fire was too huge to contain.

"It was about 10.00pm. We heard noise and when we woke up we saw a huge fire. We called the police to intervene,” said one resident.

Police sources confirmed the incident, saying that they intervened immediately but could not contain the fire due to lack of fire extinguishers.

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