Guinea: Death toll rises after fuel depot explosion

The death toll resulting from the explosion and fire at Guinea's main fuel depot increased from 14 to 18 on Tuesday night.

The government announced the "minimum" reopening of downtown Conakry's administrations and the resumption of diesel supplies throughout the country on Wednesday.

The incident occurred on Sunday night in the port area of Kaloum, Conakry's administrative and business district, causing extensive material damage and halting economic activities. 

Although the fire was contained and brought under control on Monday afternoon, smoke continued to emanate from the site, and firefighters were still actively working on Tuesday.

The fire inflicted significant damage, affecting buildings over a radius of more than a kilometre, including the one housing the trial related to the September 28, 2009 massacre. 

Heavily deployed soldiers, wearing helmets and masks, enforced traffic restrictions in the fire-affected area on Tuesday.

The deserted port area prompted the local population to flee to the suburbs.

The public prosecutor initiated a judicial inquiry into the alleged "arson" to determine the causes of the fire and identify those responsible. 

As of now, no information is available regarding the origin of the fire. On Monday, authorities established a crisis unit, activating a health emergency plan to address the treatment of the injured.

The public prosecutor initiated a judicial inquiry into the alleged "arson" to determine the causes of the fire and identify those responsible. As of now, no information is available regarding the origin of the fire. On Monday, authorities established a crisis unit, activating a health emergency plan to address the treatment of the injured.

"It's crazy what's happened here. Look at these windows. Look at my office. Can you imagine if this explosion had taken place in the middle of the day, on a working day?" wonders Mamadou Dian Diallo, the managing director.

Nearby, the seven-storey building housing the Guinean Advertising Office looks like a gutted skeleton. Windows have been blown out, and employees are busy sweeping out offices strewn with shards of glass and pieces of wood.

In the Coronthie district, the epicenter of the explosion, not even Conakry's central prison, with its wall over ten meters high, was spared the violence of the blast. A total of 33 people were injured, four of them seriously, said Charles Alphonse Wright, Minister of Justice, who visited the scene on Tuesday evening.

The Attorney General has opened a judicial inquiry into the alleged facts of "arson" to determine the causes of the fire and who was responsible. No information is yet available on the origin of the fire.

International reactions and expressions of solidarity continued to pour in on Wednesday. Pope Francis expressed his "closeness to the families of the deceased and the injured".