A fuel truck exploded in South Sudan’s Maridi State, killing at least three people, officials said Monday.

Three people were killed and six others sustained injuries when the truck that was carrying petrol exploded on Sunday, the state information minister Stephen Saki told Radio Tamazuj.

The government official pointed out that the blast on Sunday happened when the oil truck veered off the road.

He added that the fuel tanker was travelling from the capital Juba and was in Mambe area, some 15 miles away from Maridi town, when it overturned.

Saki disclosed that the oil truck driver and his conductors tried to transfer the fuel into another tanker, but the two vehicles exploded in the process.

“The two trucks exploded, leaving three people including two Somali nationals dead,” he said.

 Zachariah Gift, a conductor who sustained minor injuries, said that the explosion was caused by a power generator they had used to transfer the fuel.

"We have been here in Maridi hospital since Sunday, but there are no medicines and we have not eaten anything," he said.

Meanwhile, the state minister of infrastructure, Alison Barnaba said the incident occurred when the fuel truck came off the road and overturned due to poor conditions of roads.

He pointed out that that the state government is only responsible for maintaining feeder roads and does not have the capacity to renovate the main road linking the state to Juba.

In September 2015, nearly 100 people died in Maridi State when a fuel truck carrying petrol exploded.