Guinea: Investigation opened for arson following explosion at port of Conakry
The death toll from the explosion and fire at Guinea's main fuel depot, which took place on Sunday night in downtown Conakry, has risen from 18 to 23 dead and 241 injured, the government announced on Thursday evening (December 21st) in a statement read on national television. On Wednesday, the President of the Guinean Transition, Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya, decreed three days of national mourning starting this Thursday, December 21, 2023.
A building with windows blown out following a fire at an oil depot in Conakry, December 19, 2023. © Souleymane Camara/REUTERS
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According to Justice Minister Alphonse Charles Wright, contacted by RFI, the public prosecutor has opened judicial investigations against X both for alleged acts of arson of the Kaloum hydrocarbon depot, but also for destruction, homicide and intentional assault and battery.
The Guinean judiciary has announced the establishment of a pool of investigators, composed of the gendarmerie, the police and the civil protection. For the purposes of these investigations and for safety reasons, the area affected by the incident, i.e. the Coronthie district, remains closed to the public.
The authorities still recommend wearing a mask in the commune of Kaloum, due to the toxic fumes escaping from the site of the fire.
The fire killed 23 people and injured 241, the government said in a statement read on state television on Thursday night.
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- Guinea
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