By Mam Sait Ceesay
An elderly welder has sustained serious burn injuries when a diesel tank of a truck that he was welding at his workshop in Banjul South (Half-Die) exploded on Monday morning. The injured man and owner of the workshop was identified as Babou Cham.
Fire officials suspect the tank contained diesel in some quantity, which may have come in contact with the flame during welding, causing explosion in the tank.
Officials said they received a call regarding the blast and subsequent fire. “A rescue team of fire tenders which rushed to the spot found that while the truck was charred, the welder was injured and was moved to a hospital, where he was admitted for treatment,” the official said.
Eyewitness Modou Faal said Babou Cham was a welder who disliked welding fuel tanks. “On this fateful day, I don’t know why he did what he disliked to do, to go ahead to weld the diesel tank of a truck during which an explosion took place. Babou got injured due to the impact and caught fire before being rescued by workmates and other volunteers. He was seriously burnt,” he said.
A visit to the scene shows a case for causing serious bodily harm and destruction of property due to negligence.
Locals and witnesses said that the truck with a Senegalese registration number arrived at the victim’s denting workshop to fix its tank cover. Apparently, there was still some diesel left in the tank.
The explosion led to a fire in two nearby makeshift shops burning every merchandise to ashes.
