A truck collided with a tanker in the capital of Sierra Leone. Several people came to the scene of the accident to siphon off gasoline before an explosion occurred.
Freetown – At least 97 people were killed in a collision between a tanker truck and a truck in Sierra Leone, West Africa. More than 90 other people were injured, said Vice President Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh on Saturday after a visit to the scene of the accident.
The accident happened on Friday evening in a busy street in the capital, Freetown. According to eyewitness accounts, many people rushed to the tanker after colliding with containers to siphon off gasoline. Shortly afterwards the truck exploded. Some nearby shops and cars caught fire, it said. The local TV station AYV spoke of 400 victims on Saturday morning.
President Julius Maada Bio, who attended the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26) on Friday, is expected in Freetown shortly, a government spokesman said. Due to the “tragic accident” Bio canceled a planned trip to a meeting of the West African economic community Ecowas in Ghana. dpa