By Enyichukwu Enemanna
At least six persons have been confirmed dead, while dozens of others were injured on Monday following a fuel tanker explosion in southwestern Libya, medics said.
It is not clear the cause of the explosion, however it happened when a crowd flocked around the tanker while it headed to resupply a petrol station in the Bent Bayyah district.
A stampede occurred, followed by a massive explosion which set several cars on fire, according to images posted online.
An official at the main hospital in Sebha, southern Libya’s main city, said six people had died, an AFP report indicates.
The hospital’s management said on Facebook that “more than 50 wounded were admitted to Sebha hospital”, without indicating the number of deaths.
Many of the wounded were in a critical state, said a security source in Sebha, hundreds of kilometres (miles) south of the capital Tripoli.
Interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah tweeted that his government was “closely following” the incident.
“We have ordered a crisis cell to urgently transfer the wounded to major hospitals,” he said.
Libya has Africa’s largest proven oil reserves, but chronic corruption and theft for smuggling to neighbouring countries means that the pumps often run dry.
