The explosion of a tanker truck loaded with hundreds of liters of fuel after suffering an accident this Friday in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, has caused at least 99 deaths and dozens of serious injuries, according to the Minister of Health, Amara. Jambai, after a last count of victims. Another high-speed truck loaded with stones collided with the vehicle in the populous Wellington neighborhood, first causing a spill and later an explosion and fire, which affected numerous street stalls, vehicles, passers-by and homes.
“It is a very inhabited area,” said Benedict Bangura, a resident of Freetown, “many motorcycles and transport vans carrying dozens of people were completely burned.” In the first instance, some 80 corpses were recovered, according to a member of the Red Cross, assuring the Agence France Presse, but the balance of victims increased with the passing of the hours.
The vice president of the country, Mohamed Juledh Jalloh, went to the scene this Saturday morning and said that there were 88 seriously injured. One of the first to report the accident on the same Friday night was Freetown Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, who is abroad on a business trip. In a message uploaded to her Facebook profile, she assured that she was “deeply saddened” by the accident. “The videos and photos that circulate on social networks are shocking,” he added. Some eyewitnesses assured France Presse that many of those who died or were injured had come to the scene to collect the fuel that came out of the crashed truck before the explosion.
The mayor has stated that the balance of damages and victims has not yet been finalized and has explained that the police and the deputy mayor are at the scene of the explosion to help manage the accident. The director of the main morgue in Freetown has indicated that he has received 91 bodies as a result of the detonation.
In a message through his Twitter profile, the Sierra Leonean president, Julius Maada Bio, assured that he was “deeply moved by the tragic fire and the terrible loss of life”. He has also promised that the Government would do everything possible to support the affected families.
Deeply disturbed by the tragic fires and the horrendous loss of life around the Wellington PMB area. 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. pic.twitter.com/xJRA1UtCJJ
– President Julius Maada Bio (@PresidentBio) November 6, 2021
Join EL PAÍS now to follow all the news and read without limits
Subscribe here
Follow all the international information at Facebook and Twitter, or in our weekly newsletter.
#explosion #Sierra #Leone #truck #carrying #fuel #deaths