Juba, September 18 (RHC)-- The death toll from the massive explosion of an oil tanker in South Sudan has increased to 182. On Friday, a local official announced the latest fatalities figure of the incident, saying authorities are transferring some of the injured to “a safe location.”

John Sakithat, the local government director of Maridi, stated that many of the injured are currently “in critical condition,” thus prompting the speculation that the death toll might go up even further.

The incident happened on Wednesday after an oil tanker veered off the road and exploded in South Sudan’s Western Equatoria state. According to reports, people had gathered around the vehicle in an attempt to collect fuel when the tanker went off, thus dramatically increasing the number of casualties.

On Thursday, presidential spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny rejected speculation that the blast might be related to the country's political strife, saying: "This was an accident.”