YAOUNDE, August 29, 2008 (AFP) - A petrol tanker en route from Nigeria to Chad overturned and burst into flames in northern Cameroon, killing two people and injuring 15, local authorities said Friday.

'The truck overturned, the tank burst open and the fuel spilled out,' in the town of Limani late Thursday, said Albert Friki, the administrative head of the extreme northern Mayo-Sava region.

The victims had run forward to try to collect the spilled fuel, but were engulfed in flames when a spark ignited the tanker, Friki said.

He said the truck was carrying petrol from Nigeria to neighbouring Chad.

'The injured were taken to hospitals and clinics,' said Friki, adding that the death toll could worsen.

More than 200 people died in a similar accident in February 1998, when residents tried to collect fuel spilled when a train carrying oil tanker cars derailed and collided with an oncoming train near the capital Yaounde.