Sierra Leone explosion: Scores dead after Freetown oil tanker collision

The explosion happened outside a busy supermarket

At least 91 people have died after a massive explosion when a fuel tanker collided with a lorry in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown.

Fuel spilled before igniting and the resulting inferno engulfed bystanders and vehicles at a busy junction.

Footage broadcast by local media outlets showed badly charred bodies in the streets surrounding the tanker.

President Julius Maada Bio said he was "deeply disturbed by the tragic fires and the horrendous loss of life".

In a tweet, he said his government would do "everything to support the affected families".

Freetown Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr described seeing "harrowing" photos and said there were "rumours that more than 100 people have lost their lives".

The state-run morgue is reported to have received more than 90 bodies and some 100 people are being treated in hospitals and health centres around Freetown.

IMAGE SOURCE,AFP

Image caption,

Many of those killed were trapped in their vehicles

The explosion is believed to have happened at a junction outside the busy Choithram Supermarket in the densely populated Wellington suburb in the east of the city at around 22:00 GMT on Friday.

One report said a bus full of people was completely burnt, while nearby shops and market stalls were caught up in the flames.

Brima Bureh Sesay, the head of the Sierre Leone's National Disaster Management Agency, told local media he had never seen anything like it.

'Fireball spread into traffic'

Umaru Fofana, freelance journalist, Freetown

At the scene of the accident, there are body parts still lying in burnt-out vehicles. Also here are what's left of the petrol tanker and the truck that rammed into it.

Motorbike-taxi riders nearby started collecting the leaking fuel, causing a traffic jam. Shortly after, there was an explosion.

The fireballs spread into the surrounding area and onto the vehicles caught in the traffic.

The authorities say most of the dead have now been received at the central morgue in Freetown, with the critically injured admitted to hospitals across the city. The army, police and fire force are all at the scene.

An emergency meeting chaired by the vice-president is due to start shortly.

The port city of Freetown, which is home to just over a million people, has faced several serious disasters in recent years.

In March, more than 80 people were injured after a major fire in one of the city's slums left more than 5,000 people displaced.

And in 2017 over 1,000 people were killed after heavy rains led to a mudslide that swept through the city, leaving around 3,000 people homeless.