ABUJA, Nigeria: At least 70 people have died in central Nigeria after a fuel tanker flipped over and exploded on Saturday, the country’s emergency response agency said. The victims had scrambled to take the fuel, whose price had skyrocketed amid an economic crisis.
The fuel transfer sparked the explosion, resulting in the deaths of those transferring the gasoline and bystanders, the Associated Press reported citing Hussaini Isah, of the National Emergency Management Agency.
“The death toll stands at 70 so far,” AFP quoted Kumar Tsukwam, the head of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Niger State.
The blast happened in the early hours of Saturday near the Suleja area of Niger state after individuals attempted to transfer gasoline from one tanker into another truck using a generator.
Tsukwam said a truck carrying 60,000 litres of gasoline had an accident around 10:00 am (0900 GMT) at the Dikko junction on the road linking the federal capital Abuja to the northern city of Kaduna.
“Most of the victims were burnt beyond recognition,” Tsukwam said. “We are at the scene to clear things up.”
An FSRC statement said: that a “large crowd of people gathered to scoop the fuel” when “suddenly the tanker burst into flames, engulfing another tanker”.
“So far 60 corpses recovered from the scene, the victims are mostly scavengers,” it said.
Last year, shortly after his election, President Bola Tinubu abolished a fuel subsidy, sending prices of essentials and other goods soaring, triggering protests.
The price of gasoline has increased fivefold in 18 months, leading many to risk their lives to recover fuel during tanker truck accidents, which are common in Africa’s most populous country.
Niger State Governor Umaru Bago said in a statement that the explosion was “worrisome, heartbreaking and unfortunate”.
He said an undisclosed number of people also experienced various degrees of burns.
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With the absence of an efficient railway system to transport cargo, fatal truck accidents are common along most of the major roads in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country.
In September, an explosion killed at least 48 people in Niger state after a gasoline tanker collided with another truck conveying cattle.
In October, more than 170 people died in a similar incident in Jigawa State, in northern Nigeria.
In 2020, the FRSC listed 1,531 fuel tanker accidents which claimed over 535 lives and caused 1,142 injuries.
