KAMPALA, Uganda — A spokesman for Ugandan police says a gas tanker explosion has killed 29 people and left scores more badly burned.

Police spokesman Ibn Senkumbi said the gas tanker exploded after colliding with a car late Saturday on the outskirts of the Ugandan capital, Kampala.

Most of the dead were passenger motorcyclists who had tried to siphon gas from the tanker.

Explosions involving moving gas tankers happen frequently in this poor East African country, often killing those who rush to the scene with plastic cans hoping to steal fuel.