A screengrab taken from a video circulating online showing the fuel tanker tipped over before it exploded on Tuesday, 27, 2023. (Social media)

In Bong County, Liberia, at least 40 people have died and 83 were injured after the explosion of a fuel tanker according to Chief Medical Officer Francis Kateh.

According to FrontPage Africa, a Liberian newspaper, the incident took place on Tuesday in Totota, about 130km away from Monrovia, after which people jumped on the tanker in hopes of collecting the petrol that was leaking which resulted in the tanker exploding.

According to AFP Aaron Massaquoi, a local witness, said that "some of them had irons hitting the tanker for it to burst for them to get gas," adding that "People were all around the truck and the driver of the truck told them that they could take the gas that was spilling."

In Liberia Bong County!
Learn from this: for those whom it may concern, your life is more important than anything else, stay away from such incidents whenever it occurs pic.twitter.com/rNP9R6ThvZ
— @Bontusmay (@Mayorma13875958) December 28, 2023

Massaquoi also underscored that "He told them not to climb on top of the tanker and that they should stop hitting the tanker," emphasizing that "some people were even using screwdrivers to put holes on the tank."

Initially, it was reported that 15 people had been killed and that all those injured were transported to a hospital to receive the necessary care. On Wednesday, Kateh announced the final death toll at 40 people with 83 people injured.