The country's chief medical officer told local media on Wednesday that more than 40 people were feared dead after a tanker truck exploded after crashing in central Liberia.

The gasoline tanker crashed and flipped into a ditch along a road in Totota, about 130 kilometers (80 miles) from Monrovia.

Dr Francis Kateh told Super Bongese TV that determining the number of victims was difficult because some had been reduced to ashes. Still, he estimated that more than 40 people were killed in the incident.

Our team is going from home to home to check those missing," he told AFP.


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Police had previously stated that 15 people had died and that at least 30 people had been injured as locals gathered at the scene.

"There were lots of people that got burned," said Prince B. Mulbah, deputy inspector general for the Liberia National Police.

Malvin Sackor, another police officer, stated that after the crash, some locals began to take the leaking gas when the tanker exploded, killing some and injuring others.

He stated that the police were still tallying the total number of injured and killed.


Aaron Massaquoi, an eyewitness from Totota, told AFP that "people climbed all on top of the truck taking the gas, while some of them had irons hitting the tanker for it to burst so they could get gas."

"People were all around the truck and the driver of the truck told them that the gas that was spilling they could take that," Massaquoi said.

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