The people of Totota, Bong County in Central Liberia, and the entire country generally, are still reeling from the December 26, 2023, gas tanker explosion that has reportedly left at least 70 persons dead, with dozens others receiving medication in hospitals. The tanker had been involved in an accident.
That was clearly what it was, an accident. But ordinary citizens that lost their lives in the explosion that followed hours later should not have died at all if discipline had been exercised.
Unfortunately, due to poverty, greed, and desperation, they took advantage of the situation and went to scoop gas, which led to their painful burning and death in the explosion. Quite unfortunate and regrettable!
Firstly, news that the tanker exploded two to three hours after the accident had occurred, means the huge casualty could have been avoided if the Police and the Liberia National Fire Service had been immediately contacted to cordon the entire scene.
This was never done, so hungry and poor residents saw the dangerous incident as an opportunity to scoop gas, though illegally, to help themselves, never mind the loss the tanker's proprietor was incurring as a result of the accident.
The lack of capacity of the Police and firefighters even exacerbated the situation, as these important state security apparatuses stood by and watched, while vulnerable residents, including youth, adults, and women trooped for gasoline that did not belong to them.
Even worse, the entire episode caught the country's health system lacks basic life-saving services off balance, occurring just a day after Christmas when essential staff were on holiday.
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There is a need for mobile teams comprising health workers, Police, and firefighters to patrol major streets and highways during festive seasons such as Christmas, New Year, and other major holidays in order to rapidly respond to life-threatening situations like accidents, violence and fire disasters such as the tanker explosion in Totota.
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The Police should always been near crowd-concentrated areas such as political party rallies, church crusade grounds, sports, and entertainments, not only to protect properties but to save lives.
We believe strongly if the Police and the Fire Service had been contacted to respond immediately after the accident, the death toll and property damage would been minimized. These are but few lessons we must learn from the Totota tragedy. Our heart goes out to families of the victims, including survivors.
