Not less than 50 people have passed on and 100 were burnt on Saturday after an oil tanker collided with a vehicle on an arterial highway in the west of DR Congo, the acting governor of the region said.

The accident occurred on a highway linking the capital Kinshasa to the country's sole port at Matadi on the Atlantic Ocean.

It took place near the city of Kisantu, about 120 kilometres (100 miles) west of Kinshasa. The UN's Okapi radio said "the flames spread rapidly engulfing nearby houses."

Overloaded trucks carrying goods as well as oil tankers regularly ply this highway.