Fuel tanker blast killed over 92 people in Sierra Leone

An oil tanker has exploded near Freetown, the capital city of Sierra Leone taking the lives of atleast 92 people, while dozens of them have sustained severe injuries. The explosion occurred on late Friday after a bus struck the tanker in Wellington, an area just to the east of Freetown.

Before the blast took place, people gathered near the tank to collect the leaked fuel. More than 92 dead bodies arrived at the mortuary in Connaught Hospital. A staff member in the – intensive care unit – ICU – Foday Musa, noted that around 30 severely burned victims were not likely to survive.

The charred remains of the victims lay scattered at the scene awaiting transport to mortuaries.

The injured people were lying naked on the stretchers as their clothes were burned in the fire. While hundreds of people gathered outside the main entrance of the hospital, waiting to get any news of their loved ones.

The number of the individuals who are injured has not been identified immediately as the patients were taken to hospitals & clinics across the metropolitan area.

President Julius Maada Bio, who is in Scotland attending the United Nations climate talks Saturday, deplored the incident stating it as “horrendous loss of life” while adding, “My profound sympathies with families who have lost their loved ones & those who have been maimed as a result”.

This incident has shocked the whole world.

Sierra Leone is a nation in the region of West Africa, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is known for the white-sand beaches lining the Freetown Peninsula. The capital city, Freetown, commemorates the nation’s slave-trade history with the Cotton Tree landmark and King’s Yard Gate.