99 killed, many inured in fuel tanker blast in Sierra Leone

At least 99 people were killed and more than 100 injured in the capital of Sierra Leone late on Friday when a fuel tanker exploded following a collision, local authorities said.

The accident occurred in a busy street in the capital, Freetown.

According to eyewitnesses, “many people rushed to the tanker to siphon off petrol after the collision with containers. Shortly afterwards, the truck exploded.”

Some surrounding shops and cars caught fire, they said.

Staff at a hospital near the accident site confirmed on Saturday that rescue workers had brought in 80 bodies during the night.

A local television station spoke of 400 victims on Saturday morning.

President Julius Maada Bio, who was attending the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, is expected in Freetown shortly, a government spokesperson said.

Due to the “tragic accident,” Bio had cancelled a planned trip to a meeting of the West African Economic Community, ECOWAS, in Ghana .