Uganda fuel tanker hits minibus

The bus and tanker both burst into flames on impact

At least 40 people have died in a collision between a minibus and a fuel tanker in southern Uganda, police say.

The crash took place on crowded roads late on Saturday about 45km (30 miles) east of the capital, Kampala.

A reporter for the French news agency AFP said police pulled charred bodies, including babies, out of the wreckage.

This latest crash will once again raise calls for more restrictions on the transport of fuel around the country, the BBC's Will Ross in Kampala says.

Both the fuel tanker and the minibus burst into flames on impact.

The spot where it occurred is a black spot on the highway, where many accidents have occurred District police commander Alfred Bitwire Can African public transport be made safe?

All that remains of the minibus is twisted metal, our correspondent says. Many of those who died were burnt beyond recognition.

Two other vehicles were involved in the crash, which four people are reported to have survived.

Some of the survivors are in a critical condition.

District police commander Alfred Bitwire said the cause of the crash had not been established.

The accident site, outside the town of Najembe, was a "black spot on the highway, where many accidents have occurred", AFP quoted him as saying.

Dangerous roads

Uganda has an appalling record of road accidents.

About 50 people died

in a collision last September, and 70 people were killed in July 2002 when a bus collided with a truck laden with fuel.

And according to police records there were over 15,000 road accidents in 2002, killing more than 2,000 people.

Many accidents are due to dangerous driving, including speeding by bus drivers, experts say.

Police spokesman Asumane Mugenyi says it is not logistically possible to police roads throughout the country and has called for a national policy on driving schools.

There has however been little effort to improve road safety and at times dangerous drivers get away with serious offences by bribing police, correspondents say.