Oil tanker explodes in Sierra Leone, killing at least 92
Freetown (Sierra Leone)(AP): An oil tanker exploded near Sierra Leone's capital, killing at least 92 people and severely injuring dozens of others after large crowds gathered to collect leaking fuel, officials and witnesses said Saturday.
The explosion took place late Friday after a bus struck the tanker in Wellington, a suburb just to the east of Freetown.
The mortuary at Connaught Hospital reported 92 bodies had been brought in by Saturday morning. About 30 severely burned victims were not expected to survive, according to staff member Foday Musa.
Injured people whose clothes had burned off in the fire that followed the explosion lay naked on stretchers as nurses attended to them Saturday.
Video obtained by The Associated Press of the explosion's aftermath showed a giant fireball burning in the night sky as some survivors with severe burns cried out in pain. Charred remains of the victims lay strewn at the scene awaiting transport to mortuaries.
President Julius Maada Bio, who was in Scotland attending the United Nations climate talks Saturday, deplored the horrendous loss of life.
My profound sympathies with families who have lost loved ones and those who have been maimed as a result, he tweeted.
Vice President Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh visited two hospitals overnight and said Sierra Leone's National Disaster Management Agency and others would work tirelessly in the wake of the emergency.
We are all deeply saddened by this national tragedy, and it is indeed a difficult time for our country, he said on his Facebook page.
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Metro services begin in Bhopal; excited residents flock to take rides, selfies
Bhopal (PTI): On the first day of the commercial run of the Metro services in Bhopal on Sunday, hundreds of residents enthusiastically took rides, expressing confidence that it will save time and provide relief from traffic jams.
An official said that the Metro’s first service began at 9 am from the AIIMS station, and by 6 pm, 5,731 people had travelled on the new mass-transit corridor.
He said that people, along with their family members, had been lining up for tickets since early morning. Several users were seen taking selfies and photos inside the Metro rakes and at stations.
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Earlier on Saturday, Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav inaugurated the Metro service by flagging off a train from Subhash Nagar station on a 7.5-kilometre stretch, called the “Priority Corridor”.
With this, Bhopal became the 26th city in the country and the second city in Madhya Pradesh, after Indore, to have the Metro service.
Rao Singh, who took a Metro ride, told PTI Videos that besides saving time and money, the new mode of transport will provide relief from traffic jams and pollution.
Another passenger, who identified himself as Chetan, said he was happy that Bhopal is now on the “Metro list”.
Office-goers will benefit a lot due to the Metro service, said a young man named Akshay.
While the estimated cost of the 30.8-km-long Bhopal Metro project is Rs 10,033 crore, a sum of Rs 2,225 crore was spent on the ‘Priority Corridor’, according to officials.
