At least 13 people died in an explosion at Guinea's largest fuel depot on Monday.
Another 178 people were injured in the accident in the capital Conakry, the West African country's civil defense announced. There was an explosion and fire in a fuel depot at the port overnight. A huge cloud of smoke rose above the city into the Atlantic Ocean.
A resident of the affected Kaloum district in the city center reported that he was woken up shortly after midnight by a “deafening noise”. Thousands of people fled to safety. Police cordoned off a large area of the port. Firefighters were only able to put out the fire late in the morning.
Conakry's busy port district was nearly deserted on Monday. Schools remained closed by order of the authorities. People across the major capital have also been asked not to work for safety reasons.
Since the coup d'état in September 2001, Guinea has been governed by a military government led by Colonel Mamady Doumbouya. He promised to hand over power to an elected civilian government by January 2026. After the accident, Doumbouya called for “solidarity and prayers” to support the country “during this difficult time.” Investigations were launched to clarify the cause of the accident.