Liberia’s Health Minister, Dr Wilhelmina Jallah has announced that the death toll from Tuesday’s fuel tanker crash and explosion of a tanker overturned along a road in Totota town, about 130km (80 miles) from the capital, Monrovia, has risen to 52 after 12 more people died from their injuries.
Cause of the crash is yet to be determined as 89 more are in critical condition in the hospital.
In a live recording of the tragic event, the upturned tanker could be seen with a multitude of people both young and old gathered around it, salvaging the leaking fuel.
All a sudden, the tanker became a raging ball of fire, catching many of the people around it by utter surprise, such that many could be seen running despite being on fire, while others simply fell, burning, without any chance whatsoever to escape.
It is indeed terrible to watch.
Liberia’s President George Weah expressed his condolences to the families of the dead, saying he found images of the tragedy “deeply disturbing”, his office said.
Mr Weah has given the health authorities his “full backing to beef up manpower and equipment where necessary in their frantic effort to save lives”, the statement added.
Meanwhile a group calling itself the Concerned Bong County Citizens has urged the president to declare a national day of mourning.”Such a day will give us the opportunity as a nation and people to collectively mourn the death of so many of our compatriots”, it said in a statement.
