Some locals flocked to the scene and took the leaking gas from the tanker when it exploded
\nLiberia
\nAt least 40 people have died after a gas tanker exploded in northcentral Liberia, the country\u2019s Chief Medical Officer Francis Kateh said on Wednesday.
\nLate Tuesday, a fuel truck crashed in Totota, Lower Bong Country, about 130km (80 miles) from the capital, Monrovia \u2013 after exploding, the blast killed and injured many who had flocked to the scene.
\nKateh told local news on Wednesday that it was difficult to determine the number of victims because some had been reduced to ashes, but he estimates that 40 people were killed in the incident.
\n\u201cWe have our team going from home to home to check those that are missing,\u201d he told the French news agency AFP.
\nPolice had earlier put the death toll at 15 and said that at least 30 others were injured as locals gathered at the scene.
\n\u201cThere were lots of people that got burned,\u201d said Prince B Mulbah, deputy inspector-general for the Liberia National Police.
\nAccording to United Nations figures, poor road safety and weak infrastructure have made sub-Saharan Africa the world\u2019s deadliest region for crashes, with the fatality rate three times higher than the European average.
\nAfter Tuesday\u2019s crash, some locals took the leaking gas when the tanker exploded, another police officer, Malvin Sackor, said. He added that police were still gathering the total number of injured and killed.
\nAn eyewitness from Totota, Aaron Massaquoi, told AFP that \u201cpeople climbed all on top of the truck taking the gas, while some of them had irons hitting the tanker for it to burst for them to get gas.
\n\u201cPeople were all around the truck and the driver of the truck told them that the gas that was spilling they could take that \u2026 but some people were even using screwdrivers to pit holes on the tank\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Some locals flocked to the scene and took the leaking gas from the tanker when it exploded Liberia At least 40 people have died after a gas tanker exploded in northcentral Liberia, the country\u2019s Chief Medical Officer Francis Kateh said on Wednesday. Late Tuesday, a fuel truck crashed in Totota, Lower Bong Country, about 130km […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":377421,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-377390","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n