Three days of mourning over Sierra Leone tragedy

By Mayeni Jones

Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio has declared three days of national mourning after a fuel tanker explosion on Friday killed more than 100 people. 

Mr Maada Bio said the country must learn from the incident, adding that those injured would be given free treatment. 

He said he was setting up a task force to look into the incident, and make recommendations on how to avoid this happening again.

Later on Monday, flags will be flown at half-mast to remember the victims. 

At least 101 people died and about 100 others were injured when the tanker blew up after colliding with another truck in the capital Freetown.

Sierra Leone has suffered a number of recent tragedies. 

In March, more than 80 people were injured in a fire that swept through one of Freetown’s slums, displacing more than 5,000 residents. 

In 2017, over 1,000 people were killed in a mudslide caused by heavy rains.

This article originally appeared on BBC News.

Photo: AFP