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.
The government issued a statement later on Monday stating that “public and private schools have been closed” and “private and public sector workers are asked to stay at home.”
According to officials, the cause of the fire is unknown, and its “scale and consequences could have a direct impact on the population.”
Numerous injuries were reported to AFP by a local resident and a doctor.
According to Mamadouba Sylla, a surgeon at Donka hospital, “dozens of injured people are arriving at two of Conakry’s main hospitals, Ignace Deen and Donka.”
Service stations will stay closed, according to the government, and “an investigation will be launched to establish the cause and those responsible in the coming hours, along with a progress report.”
“There is fire in Kaloum. Firefighters are racing to the disaster site while the port area is fully cordoned off by police, local Thierno Diallo told AFP over the phone.
Diallo, a customs officer by identification, declared, “The power is completely cut off in the area.”
