2023-12-18 11:30:55
Dozens of people have died or been injured due to the explosion that occurred this Monday at a fuel depot in the district of Kaloumwhich is located in the center of the capital of Guinea, Conakrywhich has unleashed a large fire in the area.
A journalist from the news portal Guinée News has noted that “there are many injured and dead“, without providing a balance, while Le Courrier de Conakry speaks of at least four deaths in the morgue of the Ignace Deen Hospital, without the authorities having given a balance of victims for now.
At the moment there are no details about the causes of the explosion in Kaloum, where the central government headquarters are located, including the Presidential Palace, the National Assembly, as well as numerous ministries, embassies, banks and residential areas.
The transitional government established by the military junta created after the coup d’état in September 2021, has indicated that “a fire of unknown cause has broken out in the main hydrocarbon deposit of the Guinean Petroleum Company in Kaloum”, before show their “deep concern” forr “an event whose magnitude and consequences could directly impact the population.”
Thus, he has emphasized that emergency services work to “minimize the consequences” and has asked the population not to approach the place, while announcing that “public and private sector workers, with the exception of security and defense forces and medical workers, are invited to stay at home.”
“Public and private schools will remain closed”said the Government, which has promised to give an assessment “in the next few hours” and “open an investigation to determine causes and responsibilities”, according to a statement published by the Guinean Government through its account on the social network Facebook.
A witness quoted by Guinée News has specified that the power of the explosion led him to think that “it was an earthquake”. “It made us jump out of bed,” he said, while highlighting that the event “has caused panic in all the neighborhoods of the commune.”
“It was terrifying, especially when debris started falling on the roofs of the buildings. Screams could be heard everywhere. There have been injuries and even deaths, but we cannot know exactly how many there are,” he added.
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