At least 50 people have been killed and more than 100 badly burned after a tanker truck in the Democratic Republic of Congo collided with another truck and burst into flames as villagers rushed to collect the leaking fuel.
"We deplore the deaths," interim governor of Kongo-Central province Atu Matubuana told The Associated Press.
Officials were identifying the charred bodies in preparation for burial, Matubuana said.
The accident occurred overnight in the village of Mbuba, not far from Kisantu city and about 200 kilometres southwest of the capital, Kinshasa.
The fire quickly spread to nearby homes, Congo's health ministry said in a statement.
An investigation was under way into the cause of the accident.
"The driver of the tanker truck has disappeared while the driver of the tractor trailer died at the scene," the ministry said.
Twenty charred bodies had been recovered, and four other people died after arriving at a hospital.
The UN peacekeeping mission in the Congo said it had offered assistance for the injured, with nine ambulances en route to help with medical evacuations.
Deadly traffic accidents are common in Congo, where roads and other infrastructure in the vast country are often poorly maintained.
