DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: A year on, families of fuel tank explosion victims in DR Congo still await compensation.

Record ID: 359151

  • Title: DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: A year on, families of fuel tank explosion victims in DR Congo still await compensation.
  • Date: 4th July 2011
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF PEOPLE TRYING TO ORGANISE BODIES, AUTHORITIES COORDINATING RESCUE AMBULANCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS ARRIVING IN VILLAGE
  • Embargoed: 19th July 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Congo, The Democratic Republic of the
  • Country: Congo, Democratic Republic of
  • Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
  • Reuters ID: LVA5UVMNKHIMMA7CX5U8G98NUGWS
  • Story Text: A year after a petrol tanker fire claimed 300 lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo, survivors and relatives of the dead are still demanding for compensation from the government and regional grouping .
    Residents of Sange village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo gathered on Saturday (July 02) to remember 230 people killed after a fuel tanker overturned and exploded a year ago.
    Hundreds of the victims' family members joined the governor of South Kivu province, Marcelin Chissambo in prayers and a visit to the cemetery where the victims are buried.
    More than 60 children were amongst the dead, many of whom were watching football in makeshift cinema halls when it happened. Officials described scenes of devastation in the town where houses were burnt and bodies littered the streets.
    Some people died while trying to steal fuel leaking from the tanker, and many of the bodies were charred beyond recognition. The victims were buried in mass graves.
    Today, survivors say they are frustrated at the lack of response and assistance from the government and are still waiting for compensation.
    Governor Chissambo told the population that they will be compensated, but that the process may take years as many of the victims were buried without having been identified, making it hard for their families to be known.
    Victims' are seeking compensation from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) as the driver was identified to be from Kenya and COMESA provided the insurance for the truck.
    "The difficulties that the families are facing to receive their compensation do not concern SONAS (National Insurance Company of Congo). If things have been slow, it's because there were no death certificates. In order to receive money from COMESA, one needs to have a death certificate. We are working with the Uvira prosecutor in order to obtain these documents. Remember when people died, we buried them without having verified their identities before hand. We only started doing that afterwards," Chissambo said.
    Joel Bazira, who is the president of the Sange victims' union, says families are growing impatient and that the Congolese government should be more aggressive in seeking compensation for the victims' families from COMESA.
    "We continue to ask for plane tickets so that at least two of us can go to Nairobi and Kinshasa so that we can personally gather clear information on this subject and not for us to hear it from the the mouths of the authorities," said Bazira.
    There have been several similar accidents across Africa, where crowds gather around fuel tankers involved in crashes, only for the tanker to explode.
    Roads in the area are notoriously bad after years of war and neglect in the vast central African nation.
    Sector experts have warned of further accidents, citing poorly-maintained vehicles, untrained drivers, poor quality fuel and a lack of insurance and other documentation as some of the problems.
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