Deadly Fuel Depot Fire in Guinea: Over Dozen Dead, Catholic Church “completely destroyed”

Conakry, 22 December, 2023 / 8:50 PM

The church of St Joseph the Worker of Guinea’s Catholic Archdiocese of Conakry was razed down in a fire incident at a fuel depot in the capital of the West African country.

Reports indicate that the Monday, December 18 explosion and fire at Guinea's main oil depot left 18 people dead and 212 others injured. The death toll from the fire incident has reportedly been on the rise.

Agenza Fides spoke to sources who said that the church of St. Joseph the Worker, located 500 meters from the fuel depot that caught fire on the night of December 17, had been “completely destroyed” and that “the exact cause of the fire is still unknown.”

Additionally, according to a Tuesday, December 19 report by the information service of Propaganda Fide, closure of gasoline pumps, ordered by the government after the incident suggests “a fuel shortage not only in Conakry, but throughout the country, since the destroyed depot was crucial for the distribution of fuel imported from abroad.” 

Agenzia Fides reports that the fire incident occurred around midnight at the main hydrocarbon depot of Guinea's state oil company in Kaloum, the administrative and commercial district of Conakry. 

“Thick smoke and reddish flames rose into the night sky as residents fled the fire area,” the agency reports, and adds that to facilitate the arrival of emergency vehicles, public workers were asked to stay at home, while public schools and gas stations remained closed, except for those used by police and emergency services.