More than 50 people died on Saturday morning in a tank truck fire at the Mbuba village in the Kongo Central Province, west of Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to an official source.

There was considerable material damage at the scene of the fire, according to an statement of local authorities.

According to Atu Matubuana, interim governor of the province, the tanker truck, carrying gasoline from Matadi, capital city of the province, to Kinshasa, crashed into a parked truck.

The shock caused a fire that quickly spread to the houses nearby, resulting in casualties and material damage.

Authorities from Matadi deployed a local rescue team to help the local community at the scene of the fire.

"We are mourning the death of a about 50 people. There are also about 100 people with second-degree burns," Atu Matubuana said.

Roads in the central African nation are notoriously bad after years of war and neglect.

The Kongo Central Province is home to the Matadi and Boma ports, which link the country to various international river traffic.