A powerful explosion occurred on Monday, December 18th, shortly after midnight, at a fuel depot in Conakry, triggering a massive fire above the hydrocarbon depot of the Guinean Oil Company located in Kaloum, in the Coronthie district. No official casualty figures have been released at this time.
The shockwave was felt as far as the suburbs of Conakry. The explosion took place just after midnight, in the early hours of Monday, near the port of Conakry, and was followed by a gigantic fire. The incident occurred at the hydrocarbon depot of the Guinean Oil Company, located in Kaloum, in the Coronthie district.
Residents of the Coronthie district, most affected by the blast, described apocalyptic scenes with blown-off roofs and houses that may have collapsed. In the early morning, an immense column of flames and smoke rose from the end of the Kaloum peninsula, in the Guinean capital.
The first official communication from Guinean authorities came more than six hours after the explosion. According to a statement released in the early morning by the government, “a fire of unknown origin broke out at the main hydrocarbon depot of the Guinean Oil Company.” “All specialized structures were immediately engaged in fighting the fire,” the statement read. Hours after the explosion, the industrial site was still engulfed in a massive fire, though it had somewhat diminished in intensity.
Throughout the night, ambulances shuttled between Donka Hospital and the Coronthie district, at the entrance of the Kaloum peninsula, the political center of the Guinean capital where the presidency and ministries are located. The Ministry of Health established a crisis management cell to handle the influx of patients. On stretchers, cases of burns, cuts, and blast injuries, predominantly referring to medical terminology for injuries caused by the shockwave of the explosion, were observed.