At least 98 killed in Sierra Leone fuel tanker explosion

Over 90 people have been admitted to the hospital for injuries

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (KYMA, KECY/CNN) - Nearly 100 people died after a fuel tanker exploded in a suburb of Sierra Leone‘s capital, Freetown. Authorities in the West African country confirmed the details Sunday.

Director of Communications for Sierra Leone’s National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) Mohamed Lamrane Bah confirmed that several people were also in critical condition following the Friday explosion.

According to him, rescue efforts at the scene are done now that local authorities have transferred injured people to hospitals and collected the dead bodies.

NDMA investigators report two vehicles collided on the highway while the fuel tanker was about to enter a nearby filling station to discharge its fuel, causing the explosion.

“Footage and eyewitnesses intimated that while the collision took place, both drivers came out of their vehicles and warned community residents to stay off the scene while trying to address a leakage emanating from the collision,” an NDMA statement clarified. "Some community members rushed to the scene and took advantage of the leakage to scoop fuel and store it in nearby makeshift structures.”

The NDMA immediately responded to the scene, coordinating emergency responses. Ambulances were called to transport the corpses and those with critical injuries to hospitals around the area.

“In the cause of scooping the fuel, there was a major explosion that resulted in the fire disaster that occurred,” added the statement.

92 people have been admitted to hospitals within Freetown, the NDMA officials said.

Freetown Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr revealed in a Facebook post that she was “saddened to hear about an explosion along Bai Bureh Road, Wellington, after a truck carrying fuel collided with another truck.”

“The video and photo footage making rounds on social media are harrowing,” Aki-Sawyerr shared. “My sympathies go out to the families and loved ones of the victims of the explosion. May the souls of the departed rest in perfect peace.”