FREETOWN: A massive fireball sparked by a fuel tanker explosion killed 92 people in Sierra Leone's capital Freetown, the West African country's vice president said on Saturday. Hospitals were treating 88 more people for severe burns, said Vice-President Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, who arrived at the scene on Saturday.

According to witnesses, the blast happened on Friday night when a fuel tanker collided with another truck at a petrol station.

The flames then spread, burning people in cars and on roads nearby.

The majority of the victims were street vendors and motorcyclists, many of whom were caught in the blaze while trying to retrieve fuel, according to volunteer worker Jusu Jacka Yorma who was at the scene. A nurse at a hospital where victims were sent told AFP that many women, men and children had sustained "serious injuries". Rescue operations continued under police supervision on Saturday, an AFP correspondent said.