Following a fire that broke out at the nation’s main fuel depot and resulted in multiple injuries, Guinean authorities ordered workers to stay at home and closed schools in the capital on Monday.
Images on social media during the early hours of Monday morning revealed that residents of Conakry had fled the area where the explosion occurred, sending thick clouds of black smoke into the sky.
Residents who were contacted by AFP and local media both reported that the fire started just after midnight in the vicinity of the port.
“Private and public sector workers are asked to stay home” and “public and private schools have been closed”, the government said in a statement later Monday.
The cause of the fire is unknown, officials said, and its “scale and consequences could have a direct impact on the population”.
A doctor and local residents told AFP that dozens of people were injured.
“Dozens of injured people are arriving at two of Conakry’s main hospitals, Ignace Deen and Donka,” said Mamadouba Sylla, a surgeon at Donka hospital.
Service stations will remain closed, the government said, and “in the coming hours, a progress report will be issued and an investigation will be launched to establish the cause and those responsible.”
“Kaloum is burning. The port area is completely barricaded by the police, and firefighters are rushing towards the (site) of the disaster,” local resident Thierno Diallo told AFP by telephone.
“The power is completely cut off in the area,” Diallo, who identified himself as a customs officer, said.
