In a devastating incident near Totota, central Liberia, a tragic tanker explosion has left more than 40 people feared dead.
The catastrophe unfolded on Wednesday, when a tanker carrying gasoline crashed and overturned along a road, approximately 130 kilometers from the capital, Monrovia.
Dr. Francis Kateh, the country’s chief medical officer, shared with Super Bongese TV that the task of determining the exact number of victims is challenging due to some being reduced to ashes.
Despite this difficulty, he estimated that over 40 persons lost their lives in the accident. “We have our team going from home to home to check those that are missing,” he mentioned.
Quest Times also learned that initially, the police reported a death toll of 15, with at least 30 individuals injured, as local residents gathered at the crash site.
Prince B. Mulbah, deputy inspector general for the Liberia National Police, also highlighted the severity of burns suffered by many: “There were lots of people that got burned.”
According to eyewitness Aaron Massaquoi from Totota, chaos ensued as people attempted to collect leaking gas from the overturned tanker.
Tragically, the situation escalated when the tanker exploded. Massaquoi stated, “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.”
Despite warnings from the tanker driver advising against climbing on top and damaging the tanker, some individuals persisted.
“He told them not to climb on top of the tanker and that they should stop hitting the tanker…. but some people were even using screwdrivers to put holes on the tank,” Massaquoi added.