A massive fireball ignited by a fuel tanker explosion killed 98 people in Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown, the West African country’s disaster management agency disclosed on Saturday.
Africa Daily News, New York reports that the blast took place when a fuel tanker collided with another truck at a petrol station on Friday night, according to witnesses.
The flames then spread, burning people in cars and on roads nearby.
The majority of the victims were street vendors and motorcyclists, many of whom were caught in the blaze while trying to retrieve fuel leaking from the tanker before it ignited, according to volunteer worker Jusu Jacka Yorma who was at the scene.
The National Disaster Management Agency said in a statement that 98 deaths had been recorded so far and ’92 survivors are currently admitted to various hospitals in Freetown’.
Vice-President Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh had earlier given a death toll of 98 after arriving at the scene, adding that all those injured would receive free treatment.
A nurse at a hospital where victims were sent told reporters that many women, men, and children had sustained ‘serious injuries’.
Rescue operations continued under police supervision on Saturday.
Hundreds of people gathered at the scene of the tragedy, many searching for missing relatives under the eye of security forces.
Contrary to some initial reports, a fuel depot near the accident did not explode, the correspondent added.
‘Deeply disturbed by the tragic fires and the horrendous loss of life,” President Julius Maada Bio wrote on Twitter.
‘My profound sympathies with families who have lost loved ones and those who have been maimed as a result. My government will do everything to support affected families.’
The United Nations office in Sierra Leone expressed its ‘deepest condolences’ to the victims.
‘The UN family closely monitors the situation and stands ready” to help with the response to the fire,’ it said in a statement.
Africa Daily News, New York reports that despite being rich in diamonds Sierra Leone remains one of the world’s poorest countries, its economy was devastated during a 1991-2002 civil war that left 120,000 dead.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
