*CHANGES HEADLINE, ADDS NEW DETAILS
By James Tasamba
KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – At least 13 people are confirmed to have been killed and 178 others injured following a massive explosion and fire at a fuel depot in Guinea’s capital Conakry, authorities said Monday.
“Some 178 people were treated with varying injuries including 10 in private facilities. Of the 178 people, about 50% sustained minor injuries and were discharged,” Oumar Diouhe Bah, the health minister, told a press conference in the capital Conakry.
“Unfortunately, in the two national hospitals, we registered 13 deaths including two victims who died on arrival around midday.”
Noting that “the situation is under control,” Bah said some people with slight injuries were treated at the scene of the tragedy by health personnel deployed after the incident.
The incident took place at around midnight on Monday in the country’s Kaloum administrative district, government spokesman Ousmane Gaoual Diallo told reporters.
“The fire was followed by a very huge explosion that damaged some nearby infrastructure. Many buildings were blown away. The main hospitals, Ignace Deen and Donka, were immediately mobilized to take care of the victims, the number of whom will be communicated during the day,” he said.
The cause of the explosion at the depot that supplies most of the fuel in Guinea has yet to be established.
In a statement, Col. Mamadi Doumbouya, who was sworn in as transition president following a military coup in September 2021 that deposed President Alpha Conde, extended condolences to the families of the victims and to the people of Guinea, while wishing a speedy recovery to the injured who he said are being fully cared for by the state.
“While awaiting the investigations carried out by the government to find out the exact causes of the fire as well as the human and material toll of this tragedy, I take this opportunity to appeal to the people of Guinea for solidarity and prayers for the nation in these difficult times,” he said.
Diallo said the government had taken emergency measures including evacuation of citizens who live nearby.