Fuel tanker explodes in Sierra Leone, killing at least 99

A fuel tanker exploded in a suburb of Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, late Friday night, killing at least 99 people.
The tanker hit another vehicle near a gas station, which caused a large spill, city officials said Saturday. Local residents were at the scene with plastic containers trying to collect the spilled gasoline when the explosion took place, The Wall Street Journal reports. Mohamed Lamrane Bah, director of communications for the West African nation's National Disaster Management Agency, said many people are injured in critical condition.
Video obtained by The Associated Press showed a giant fireball burning following the explosion, as survivors screamed in pain and charred bodies lay in the street. President Julius Maada Bio, who was in Scotland at the United Nations' COP26 climate talks, tweeted his "profound sympathies with families who have lost loved ones and those who have been maimed."
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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