BANGUI, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Fifteen people were killed and dozens badly burned in Central African Republic when a petrol tanker that had overturned exploded as villagers tried to salvage fuel from it, survivors and officials said on Sunday.

The truck carrying gasoline and diesel oil overturned on Saturday after blowing a tyre near the village of Gbahon, 75 km (45 miles) north of the capital Bangui.

The driver and his assistant escaped unhurt. But dozens of local villagers, mostly women and children, rushed up to the overturned truck to try to siphon off its load of fuel.

"We warned them in vain to move away because they were in danger. But they didn't understand and even threatened us and it was two of us against more than 60 men, women and children. And then suddenly there was an explosion when they started to open one of the stopcocks," driver Aboubakar Camara told journalists.

Rescue workers said more than 30 injured with serious burns were evacuated to the capital Bangui, while those with less serious injuries were taken to the nearby town of Boali.

"It's a dreadful sight that I've seen. Ignorance and poverty are the causes of this," said local politician Frederic Dambelle Nguillet, who was one of the first to arrive on the scene.

Deadly fires, accidents and explosions involving oil tankers or pipelines are common in West Africa, which like the rest of the continent has seen fuel prices rise sharply as a result of soaring world crude oil prices.

Last month, at least 10 people were killed and many more severly burned when a tanker truck carrying fuel overturned and exploded in northern Cameroon. Many of the victims were local people who had approached to try to collect the leaking fuel. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/) (Reporting by Paul-Marin Ngoupana; Editing by Pascal Fletcher)

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