Sierra Leone: Many feared dead after fuel tanker blast

A fuel tanker explosion in Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, has claimed the lives of dozens of people.

The Friday night incident occurred following a collision between a loaded fuel tanker and a truck in the eastern part of the city, according to witnesses.

By the time of going to press, there was no official figure on the exact number of victims, but a source from a mortuary said they had received dozens of bodies by midnight.

According to witnesses, many of the victims were residents, mostly commercial motorcycle riders, who rushed to the scene to collect fuel leaking from the tanker after the collision.

The incident happened near a fuel station in the industrial community of Wellington.

Traders and motorists on the road were also affected by the explosion. 

Graphic photos and video footages shared on social media showed bodies scattered around the scene of the explosion.

Freetown Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyer, who is out of the country, promised a swift response to the incident.

“Even though I cannot be there in person, our Metropolitan Police and Deputy Mayor are at the scene,” she said in a Facebook post, noting that her office’s Disaster Response Team would meet with the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), which is leading the response efforts, first thing in the morning to conduct a needs assessment.