Pressmediaofindia
Related Articles
29-12-2023
MONROVIA: At least 40 people have died after a gas tanker exploded in northcentral Liberia, the country’s Chief Medical Officer Francis Kateh said on Wednesday.
Late Tuesday, a fuel truck crashed in Totota, Lower Bong Country, about 130km (80 miles) from the capital, Monrovia after exploding, the blast killed and injured many who had flocked to the scene.
Kateh told local news on Wednesday that it was difficult to determine the number of victims because some had been reduced to ashes, but he estimates that 40 people were killed in the incident.
“We have our team going from home to home to check those that are missing,” he told media.
Police had earlier put the death toll at 15 and said that at least 30 others were injured as locals gathered at the scene.
“There were lots of people that got burned,” said Prince B Mulbah, deputy inspector-general for the Liberia National Police.
According to United Nations figures, poor road safety and weak infrastructure have made sub-Saharan Africa the world’s deadliest region for crashes, with the fatality rate three times higher than the European average.
After Tuesday’s crash, some locals took the leaking gas when the tanker exploded, another police officer, Malvin Sackor, said. He added that police were still gathering the total number of injured and killed.
An eyewitness from Totota, Aaron Massaquoi, told media that “people climbed all on top of the truck taking the gas, while some of them had irons hitting the tanker for it to burst for them to get gas.
“People were all around the truck and the driver of the truck told them that the gas that was spilling they could take that … but some people were even using screwdrivers to pit holes on the tank”.
Meanwhile, it was reported that people climbed onto the truck to extract gas, with some using iron objects to hit the tanker, hoping it would burst, allowing them to access the fuel.
Media reported that this incident highlights the challenges of poor road safety and weak infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa, making it the world’s deadliest region for crashes, with a fatality rate three times higher than the European average, according to United Nations figures.
The truck driver informed the crowd that they could take the spilled gas.
“There were lots of people that got burned,” Prince B Mulbah, deputy inspector general for the Liberia National Police said.
An eyewitness told media that “people climbed all on top of the truck taking the gas, while some of them had irons hitting the tanker for it to burst for them to get gas”. (Int’l News Desk)
