Nigeria: 153 Killed in Tanker Explosion
Victims of the Tanker Explosion in Nigeria, Oct 17, 2024 Photo: Aljazeera
October 17, 2024 Hour: 7:04 pm
Officials explained that the contents of the tanker flooded sewers and drains in the town and villagers began to search for the petrol, but then the fuel caught fire.
On Thursday, official sources stated that the death toll from the explosion of a fuel truck in northern Nigeria risen to at least 153.
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Police in Jigawa state, where the incident occurred, confirmed 153 dead and more than 100 injured.
The death toll is rising as the hours pass due to the large number of people who came to steal fuel immediately after the accident occurred.
Officials explained that the contents of the tanker flooded sewers and drains in the town and villagers began to search for the petrol, but then the fuel caught fire.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s president, Bola Tinubu, urged the Federal Road Safety Corps to strengthen night-time travel measures, with increased patrols, stricter enforcement and other road safety mechanisms, in the face of the spate of accidents.
For their part, local residents told local media that economic hardship and hunger were linked to the deaths of people who were collecting fuel when the explosion occurred.
The accident occurred at midnight on Wednesday night in the town of Majiya, in Jigawa state, when the driver of the tanker lost control of the vehicle and it overturned, according to local authorities.
In oil-producing Nigeria, such accidents involving fuel-laden trucks on the roads are common.
Last September, 59 people were killed when two vehicles – one loaded with petrol – collided in the Agaie area of Niger state in the north-central part of the country.
In April 2023, another 10 people were killed in Plateau state, in the central region, also by the explosion of a tanker truck, in an accident of the same type.
Autor: OSG
Fuente: The Independent-The Star
