An oil tanker exploded near Sierra Leone’s capital, killing at least 99 people and severely injuring dozens of others, after crowds gathered to collect leaking fuel, officials and witnesses said on Saturday.
The explosion took place late on Friday after a bus struck the tanker in Wellington, a suburb east of Freetown.
The death toll currently stands at 99 with more than 100 casualties being treated in hospitals and clinics across the capital, deputy health minister Amara Jambai told Reuters.
Foday Musa, a staff member at Connaught Hospital, said around 30 severely burnt victims brought in for treatment were not expected to survive.
Injured people whose clothes had burnt away in the fire that followed the explosion lay naked on stretchers as nurses attended to them on Saturday.
"We've got so many casualties, burnt corpses," said Brima Bureh Sesay, head of the National Disaster Management Agency, in a video from the scene shared online. "It's a terrible, terrible accident."
Videos of the explosion’s aftermath, posted to social media, showed a giant fireball burning in the night sky as survivors with severe burns cried out in pain.
President Julius Maada Bio, who was in Scotland attending the UN climate summit on Saturday, deplored the “horrendous loss of life”.
“My profound sympathies with families who have lost loved ones,” he said on Twitter.
Vice President Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh visited two hospitals overnight and said Sierra Leone’s National Disaster Management Agency and others would “work tirelessly” after the emergency.
“We are all deeply saddened by this national tragedy, and it is indeed a difficult time for our country,” he said on his Facebook page.
Accidents involving petrol tankers have happened before in Sierra Leone, one of the poorest countries in the world.
Similar incidents elsewhere in Africa have also left many dead.
In 2009, more than 100 people were killed when a petrol tanker overturned north-west of Kenyan capital, Nairobi, and an explosion burnt those gathering to collect leaking fuel.
At least 100 people were killed when a tanker exploded in Tanzania in 2019, and in 2015 more than 200 perished in a similar accident in South Sudan.
In July this year, 13 people were killed and others seriously burnt when a “huge fireball” engulfed a crowd in Kenya as they siphoned fuel from an overturned petrol truck that ignited without warning.
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Date of launch: November 2016
Founder: David Tobias
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers
Sector: Technology
Size: 18 employees
Stage: Embarking on a Series A round to raise $5 million in the first quarter of 2019 with a 20 per cent stake
Investors: Seed round was self-funded with “millions of dollars”
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Motori Profile
Date started: March 2020
Co-founder/CEO: Ahmed Eissa
Based: UAE, Abu Dhabi
Sector: Insurance Sector
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Teams
Chennai Knights, Lahore Sikandars, Pakhtoon Blasters, Abu Dhabi Stars, Abu Dhabi Dragons, Pakhtoon Warriors and Hyderabad Nawabs.
Squad rules
All teams consist of 15-player squads that include those contracted in the diamond (3), platinum (2) and gold (2) categories, plus eight free to sign team members.
Tournament rules
The matches are of 25 over-a-side with an 8-over power play in which only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle. Teams play in a single round robin league followed by the semi-finals and final. The league toppers will feature in the semi-final eliminator.
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The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
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Rating: 4/5
Company name: Play:Date
Launched: March 2017 on UAE Mother’s Day
Founder: Shamim Kassibawi
Based: Dubai with operations in the UAE and US
Sector: Tech
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Stage of funding: Seed
Investors: Three founders (two silent co-founders) and one venture capital fund
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Display: 6.8" edge quad-HD dynamic Amoled 2X, Infinity-O, 3088 x 1440, 500ppi, HDR10 , 120Hz
Processor: 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1/Exynos 2200, 8-core
Memory: 8/12GB RAM
Storage: 128/256/512GB/1TB
Platform: Android 12
Main camera: quad 12MP ultra-wide f/2.2, 108MP wide f/1.8, 10MP telephoto f/4.9, 10MP telephoto 2.4; Space Zoom up to 100x, auto HDR, expert RAW
Video: 8K@24fps, 4K@60fps, full-HD@60fps, HD@30fps, super slo-mo@960fps
Front camera: 40MP f/2.2
Battery: 5000mAh, fast wireless charging 2.0 Wireless PowerShare
Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC
I/O: USB-C
SIM: single nano, or nano and SIM, nano and nano, eSIM/nano and nano
Colours: burgundy, green, phantom black, phantom white, graphite, sky blue, red
Price: Dh4,699 for 128GB, Dh5,099 for 256GB, Dh5,499 for 512GB; 1TB unavailable in the UAE
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Dubai Kahayla Classic – Group 1 (PA) $750,000 (Dirt) 2,000m
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Dubai Turf – Group 1 (TB) $4million (T) 1,800m
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Dubai Sheema Classic – Group 1 (TB) $5million (T) 2,410m
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Key facilities
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3. Leicester 67
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5. Manchester United 61
6. Tottenham 58
7. Wolves 56
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11. Burnley 49
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15. West Ham 39
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19. Aston Villa 32
20. Norwich City 29
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