A fuel tanker exploded in Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown late Friday, killing at least 99 people and injuring dozens more, authorities said Saturday.

The explosion happened shortly after a fuel tanker collided with another vehicle near a gas station in the city’s eastern suburb of Wellington, causing a large spill, city officials said. Residents in the area had gathered with plastic containers to collect spilled gasoline, according to rescue workers and city authorities.

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A fuel tanker exploded in Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown late Friday, killing at least 99 people and injuring dozens more, authorities said Saturday.

The explosion happened shortly after a fuel tanker collided with another vehicle near a gas station in the city’s eastern suburb of Wellington, causing a large spill, city officials said. Residents in the area had gathered with plastic containers to collect spilled gasoline, according to rescue workers and city authorities.

By Saturday afternoon, 99 bodies had been recovered from the scene and taken to the state morgue in the port city of the West African nation. State television reported that many people were trapped in their cars and were unable to escape when the tanker exploded.

At least 99 people were killed and dozens more were injured in Sierra Leone’s capital after a fuel tanker exploded. Photo: NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT AGE via REUTERS The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition

Images showed charred bodies charred and badly burned patients at hospitals wrapped in bandages. Officials from the country’s National Disaster Management Agency arrived at the scene shortly after the explosion but it took police several hours to put out the fire, which blazed through shops and nearby houses. Almost 100 people were taken for treatment at several hospitals in Freetown.

“Deeply disturbed by the tragic fires and the horrendous loss of life,” President Julius Maada Bio said in a statement. “My profound sympathies with families who have lost loved ones and those who have been maimed as a result. My government will do everything to support affected families.”

Such deadly explosions are common in sub-Saharan Africa, where residents living in impoverished cities and along highways converge around fuel tankers involved in accidents to steal gasoline and sell it. A tanker explosion killed more than 90 people in Tanzania in 2019.

Sierra Leone, a major producer of gold and diamonds, has suffered from years of a prolonged economic downturn due to a litany of disputes with foreign mining companies. The Covid-19 pandemic has aggravated the crisis, resulting in a 2.1% contraction of the economy last year.

Inflation in Sierra Leone has soared to double digits in recent months, leaving many of Freetown’s million residents struggling to afford basic commodities. Supply-chain disruptions have also upended the country’s mining industry, slashing mine revenues by around 80% last year.

Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, the mayor of Freetown, said that rescue efforts at the scene had ended early Saturday though around four bodies were still at the scene of the explosion.

“The explosion was very disastrous,” she said. “We are currently conducting a needs assessment.”

Write to Nicholas Bariyo at nicholas.bariyo@wsj.com