At least 99 die as oil tanker explodes in Sierra Leone

More than 100 people are feared dead and scores more injured after an oil tanker exploded near Sierra Leone’s capital.

The tanker was involved in a collision on Friday night with a bus or a lorry in Wellington, a suburb of Freetown, witnesses said.

Initial reports suggested people had been trying to collect fuel leaking from the damaged tanker when it exploded.

The vehicle was destroyed while nearby shops and market stalls were caught up in the flames. Video footage showed a giant fireball burning in the night sky following the explosion.

“We’ve got so many casualties, burnt corpses,” said Brima Bureh Sesay, head of the National Disaster Management Agency. “It’s a terrible, terrible accident.” Yesterday hundreds of people gathered at the mortuary at Freetown’s Connaught Hospital, trying to locate their missing relatives.

The mortuary reported 92 bodies had been brought in by the morning. About 30 severely burned victims were not expected to survive, according to a member of staff.

President Julius Maada Bio, who is in Scotland attending the Cop26 climate talks, deplored the “horrendous loss of life”, and tweeted: “My profound sympathies with families who have lost loved ones and those who have been maimed as a result.”

Vice-president Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh said: “We are all deeply saddened by this national tragedy, and it is indeed a difficult time for our country.”