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LAGOS. – At least 140 people were yesterday killed and dozens more wounded after an overturned fuel tanker exploded in north-western Nigeria, according to police and emergency workers.
Police say the explosion on Jigawa state expressway happened as people rushed to the overturned vehicle to collect fuel.
People then rushed to the vehicle to collect the fuel, police spokesman Lawan Shiisu Adam said yesterday.
Haruna Mairiga, the head of Jigawa state Emergency Management Agency, put the death toll from the accident at 147.
Ninety-seven people were “burned to ashes” at the scene, he said.
Nura Abdullahi, a spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), said “more than 140 people” who died were buried during a mass funeral.
He warned the toll was likely to rise further.
Earlier, police said at least 94 people were killed and 50 injured.
The tanker, which had travelled about 110km (68 miles) from neighbouring Kano state, veered to avoid colliding with a truck in the town of Majia, according to police.
Following the crash, residents crowded around the vehicle, which likely increased the number of casualties, Adam said.
“The residents were scooping up fuel from the overturned tanker when the explosion occurred, sparking a massive inferno,” he told the media.
Videos that appeared to be from the scene showed a massive fire stretching across the entire area overnight, with what appeared to be bodies littered at the scene.
“The tanker crashed while conveying products to the northern parts of Nigeria.
“It was driving along a major highway when it spilled its contents,” Fidelis Mbah.
“Most of the villages around there, the residents, rushed to the scene to try and scoop up the fuel, either for domestic or commercial purposes.
“And in the process, within minutes, the tanker exploded killing dozens of them right there at the spot,” Mbah said, adding that authorities fear the death toll may increase.
At least 50 wounded people were taken to local hospitals in Ringim and Hadejia towns where they were being treated, police and emergency workers said.
The Nigerian Medical Association urged doctors to rush to nearby emergency rooms to help with the influx of patients, while Nigerian lawmakers observed a minute’s silence in the Senate.
In a statement yesterday, Nigerian Vice President Kashim Shettima called for a safety review and said the federal government was sending resources to support those affected. Deadly truck accidents are common along most of the main roads in Nigeria, with experts attributing many of them to reckless driving, poor road conditions and ill-maintained vehicles.
Last month, at least 48 people were killed in an explosion after a fuel tanker collided with another truck in Nigeria’s north-central Niger State. In 2020 alone, there were 1,531 petrol tanker crashes resulting in 535 deaths and injuries to 1,142 people, according to Nigeria’s Federal Road Safety Corps.
Tanker explosions can result in mass casualties as residents often look to siphon off fuel following accidents. Fuel has also become an even more precious commodity as Nigeria suffers its worst economic crisis in a generation. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company in early September increased the price of petrol by at least 39 percent, the second steep hike in more than a year. – Aljazeera.com
Online Reporter