At Least 100 Killed in Sierra Leone Fuel Tanker Explosion (+Video)
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A tanker truck explosion at night in Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown caused massive loss of life, with dozens reportedly dead. Many of the victims were allegedly trying to collect fuel after an accident on the road.
Several badly burned victims lay on the streets of Freetown as fire on Friday blazed through shops and houses nearby, social media images showed, although the Reuters news agency was not immediately able to independently verify the clips, Al Jazeera reported.
“The video and photo footage making rounds on social media are harrowing,” said Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, the mayor of the port city. “There are rumours that more than 100 people have lost their lives.”
The blast after the collision with a truck claimed victims among those who had flocked to collect fuel leaking from the ruptured vehicle, she added in a posting on Facebook.
The extent of damage to property was as yet unknown, the mayor said, adding that police and her deputy were at the scene to assist disaster management officials.
“It is a terrible, terrible accident,” Brima Bureh Sesay, the chief of the National Disaster Management Agency, told a magazine.
The claim that people were collecting fuel is supported by footage of excited people standing around the tanker, some carrying canisters, which was allegedly taken shortly before the explosion.