BANGUI, Sept 28, 2008 (AFP) - Fifteen people were killed and about 20 injured in the Central African Republic when a tanker truck flipped and caught fire, a hospital source said Sunday.

The truck overturned on Saturday in Gbahon, north of the capital Bangui, and residents attempted to collect the petrol that leaked out of the vehicle.

It then suddenly caught fire, severely burning some 20 people and killing 12 immediately. Three others died later in hospital and the death toll could increase further, the source said.