Gas tanker explosion kills more than 40 people in Liberia

Dozens of people died on the side of the road in Liberia after rushing to retrieve fuel from an overturned tanker before it exploded, officials said.

Officials have said more than 40 people were killed in Tuesday’s blast, but Health Minister Wilhelmina Jallah said in a telephone interview that the number of fatalities could rise as another 83 people were injured.

a video is circulating on social media showed people running from the explosion, some of them engulfed in flames, as thick, black smoke rose from the tanker.

“These guys risked their lives for little or nothing,” Jacob Vesselee, the regional traffic commander, said in a phone call.

Living standards are dire in Liberia, where more than four-fifths of the population do not have adequate access to food. World Bankand prices for basic products such as rice and oil have risen dramatically in the past two years.

Liberia was largely peaceful in November presidential elections in which the rising cost of living emerged as a major attack on the government led by former football star George Weah, who ultimately lost to Joseph Boakai.

The tanker overturned around 2 p.m. while overtaking another car in the town of Totota, north-central Liberia, Mr. Vesselee said, as he lured people to the accident scene before the vehicle exploded.

Sub-Saharan Africa has the worst road safety record in the world, according to the United Nations.

Rescue workers were still trying to determine the exact number of victims by going from house to house and interviewing families, as not all the bodies were recognizable, said Dr. Francis Kateh, Liberia’s chief medical officer, told local channel Super Bongese TV.

“Some people were burned beyond recognition,” he said. “Some of them have turned to ash.”

The majority of the injured were transported about 70 miles (110 kilometers) to the country’s capital, Monrovia, said Ms. Jallah, the health minister.

Jerry Brown, CEO of the John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Monrovia, the largest hospital in Liberia, said the hospital received 28 people with burns on Wednesday. from the first to the third grade. Two of them have now died.

He added that the hospital has skilled doctors but does not have a specialized burn unit, forcing them to convert the trauma ward into a makeshift burn unit.

“Our ability to treat burns is dismal,” said Dr. Brown, adding that the hospital could treat four or five burn cases at a time. “It’s a big challenge.”