Liberian authorities fear the deaths of at least 40 people after a tanker truck exploded in the center of the country on Tuesday, a senior medical official said.
The accident occurred in the town of Totota, 130 km northeast of the capital Monrovia. The truck left the road and fell into a ditch before exploding.
Due to the burnt condition of a large number of bodies, it is difficult to ascertain the exact number, but it is likely that “more than 40 people lost their lives,” medical director Francis Kateh told Super Bongese TV.
This doctor told AFP that since the disaster, his teams have been “going door to door to ascertain the number of missing people.”
The police initially reported a number of at least 15 dead and 30 injured. “Many people were burned,” said a spokesman, Prince B. Mulbah.
According to Malvin Sackor, another police official, the explosion occurred as residents gathered around the truck to collect gasoline.
“People got in the truck to get gas. “Some of them had iron bars and hit the tanker, causing it to burst and take the gasoline with it,” Aaron Massaquoi, who said he witnessed the scene, confirmed to AFP.
The driver of the damaged truck “instructed them not to get on the tank and to stop,” he added.
Dr. Cynthia Blapooh, local health official, reported in the Front Page Africa newspaper on Wednesday that there were “severely affected patients, including children and a pregnant woman, a total of 36 people.”