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18-10-2024
ABUJA/ DUTSE: A fuel tanker exploded overnight in northern Nigeria, killing at least 153 people who rushed to the scene of the accident to collect leaking petrol, officials say.
The fire engulfed the overturned vehicle, which had been cordoned off by officers after it crashed in Jigawa state, the police told media.
About 100 other people injured in the explosion have been taken to hospitals in the region, many of them in critical condition.
Officers had warned people not to approach the tanker after the accident late on Tuesday night, but they were unable to contain the growing crowd, said police spokesman Lawal Shiisu Adam.
“We tried our best to stop people going to the vehicle to get petrol but despite cordoning [off] the area, we were overpowered and as people were scooping fuel, fire erupted,” he told media.
The crash happened in the town of Majia at around 23:30 local time (22:30 GMT), he said.
“The fuel tanker was coming from Kano and heading to Nguru in Yobe state when the driver lost control of the vehicle.”
The driver, who was not injured, has been taken into custody while the police conduct an investigation.
In a condolence message to the families of the victims, Vice-President Kashim Shettima called for a comprehensive review of fuel transportation safety protocols across Nigeria.
A distressing video has been shared on social media showing the moments after the fire erupted.
“Fire service and other emergency units rushed to the scene to help after the incident,” Adam said.
Many of the victims have been burnt beyond recognition. The recovered bodies have been covered by tree branches to shield them from onlookers.
Rescue workers have been finding more bodies some a considerable distance from the scene of the accident. They had presumably been trying to get help before succumbing to their injuries, a police spokesman told media.
Most of those who died have been buried in a mass ceremony.
Fuel tanker explosions and accidents are common in Nigeria often caused by the poor state of roads and badly maintained vehicles. As the clear-up operation was under way in Jigawa, there was another fuel tanker accident in south-western Ogun state in the town of Ibafo. It overturned on Wednesday morning on a main road in front of a commercial bank, spilling petrol before bursting into flames.
The fire ravaged the area damaging other Lorries. No-one was injured in the incident, but it is estimated to have caused thousands of dollars’ worth of damage.
In September, 59 people died in Nigeria’s Niger state after a fuel tanker collided with a lorry carrying passengers and cattle. Nigerian truck drivers who have survived a journey through Boko Haram territory relax out of the sun under the porch of a building.
Most of those in the group drive tankers of petrol, diesel or kerosene to and from Maiduguri, the city at the heart of the Islamist insurgency in the north-east and the capital of Borno state. Gathered at the Ogere Trailer Park, about 50km (30 miles) north of Lagos, they say they have all been affected by the six-year conflict.
“We are all concerned about the situation, we have all lost relatives, wives and children are kidnapped and houses have been burnt,” says Atiku Abubakar. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
