99 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in Sierra Leone’s capital after a petrol truck burst following an accident, according to the central mortuary and local officials.
The government has not yet confirmed the death toll, but the manager of Freetown’s major state mortuary claimed 91 bodies had been received in the aftermath of the explosion.
An additional 100 casualties have been admitted to hospitals and clinics throughout the capital, according to Deputy Health Minister Amara Jambai.
Victims included those who gathered to collect petrol leaking from the burst car.
“There are so many casualties, burned corpses,” said Brima Bureh Sesay, chairman of the National Disaster Management Agency, in an online video from the site. “This is a heinous, heinous accident.”