13 killed in Guinean capital oil depot fire

At least 13 people were killed and more than 170 others injured in a major fire that broke out Sunday night at the large fuel depot in the commune of Kaloum, the Guinean capital of Conakry, said Oumar Diouhe Bah, minister of Health and Hygiene, in a statement Monday, reported Xinhua.

The bodies of the victims as well as most of the injured were received in the two main hospitals in Conakry, namely the Donka National Hospital and that of Ignace Deen, said the minister.

He specified that medical teams were deployed on-site to help in emergency cases while reassuring that care for the injured and other victims is completely free in hospitals. According to him, 89 of the 170 injured admitted to the hospitals had been discharged before 6 a.m., local time, Monday.

At the moment, the situation seems to be under control and the fire is on the verge of being brought under control, said the official.

The transitional government earlier in the day demanded all non-essential workers stay at home to make way for the first responders as the oil depot fire was raging.

"Workers in the public and private sector, except the defense and security forces and the medical profession, are invited to stay at home. Public and private schools will be closed and service stations will be closed, except for health services," the transitional government announced in a press release. "We invite the populations of the neighboring areas to move away from the site not only for their own safety but also to allow the services to operate in complete safety."

The transitional President Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya on Monday asked the people of Guinea to show solidarity and prayer for the country following the outbreak of the fuel depot fire.

Mamadi Doumbouya conveyed his condolences to the families of the victims as well as the people of Guinea and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.

"While awaiting the investigations carried out by the government to find out the exact causes of the fire as well as the human and material toll of this tragedy, I call on the people of Guinea to show solidarity and prayer for the country in these moments of hard trial," he said on his Facebook page.

He reassured that all victims and people impacted will be immediately and fully supported by the State.