#THE FLAME OF THE WEST FREE#

'The UN family closely monitors the situation and stands ready' to help with the response to the fire,' it said in a statement.ДЇreetown mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr said she was 'deeply saddened' by the explosion. The United Nations office in Sierra Leone expressed its 'deepest condolences' to the victims.

My government will do everything to support affected families.' 'My profound sympathies with families who have lost loved ones and those who have been maimed as a result. 'Deeply disturbed by the tragic fires and the horrendous loss of life,' President Julius Maada Bio wrote on Twitter. Video footage showed a burnt-out tanker and a truck, and the surrounding area littered with husks of vehicles, some still smouldering. Hundreds of people gathered at the scene of the tragedy, many searching for missing relatives under the eye of security forces, an AFP correspondent said.Д¬ontrary to some initial reports, a fuel depot near the accident did not explode, the correspondent added. Rescue operations continued under police supervision on Saturday.

#THE FLAME OF THE WEST FREE#

Vice-President Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh had earlier given a death toll of 98 after arriving at the scene, adding that all those injured would receive free treatment.ДЄ nurse at a hospital where victims were sent told AFP that many women, men and children had sustained 'serious injuries'. The National Disaster Management Agency said in a statement that 98 deaths had been recorded so far and '92 survivors are currently admitted to various hospitals in Freetown'. The majority of the victims were street vendors and motorcyclists, many of whom were caught in the blaze while trying to retrieve fuel leaking from the tanker before it ignited, according to volunteer worker Jusu Jacka Yorma who was at the scene.

The flames then spread, burning people in cars and on roads nearby. The blast happened when a fuel tanker collided with another truck at a petrol station on Friday night, according to witnesses. A massive fireball sparked by a fuel tanker explosion killed 98 people in Sierra Leone's capital Freetown, the West African country's disaster management agency said on Saturday.

The flame of the west