Hundreds dead in Sierra Leone as oil tanker exposed after crash with bus

At least 92 people have been killed after an oil tanker exploded near Sierra Leone’s capital, with the country’s president mourning the “horrendous loss of life”.

A further 100 people have been taken to hospitals and clinics across the city, deputy health minister Amara Jambai said.

A staffer at Connaught Hospital said 30 severely burned victims were not expected to survive.

The explosion took place early on Saturday after a bus struck the tanker in Wellington, a suburb of the capital.

Video obtained by The Associated Press showed a giant fireball burning in the night sky following the explosion, as some survivors with severe burns cried out in pain.

Police were at the scene to assist disaster management officials as charred remains of victims lay on the ground awaiting transport to mortuaries.

President Julius Maada Bio, who is in Glasgow for the COP26 climate talks, deplored the “horrendous loss of life”.

“My profound sympathies with families who have lost loved ones and those who have been maimed as a result,” he tweeted.

Victims included people who had flocked to collect fuel leaking from the ruptured vehicle, said Freetown Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr.

The mayor said the extent of the damage was not yet clear.

The head of the country’s National Disaster Management Agency, Brima Bureh Sesay, said: “We’ve got so many casualties, burnt corpses.

“It’s a terrible, terrible accident.”

Vice President Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh visited two hospitals overnight and said Sierra Leone’s National Disaster Management Agency and others would “work tirelessly” in responding to the emergency.

“We are all deeply saddened by this national tragedy, and it is indeed a difficult time for our country,” he said.

……………………………………………………