MAJIA (Jigawa State, Nigeria), Oct 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than 140 people have been killed and dozens of others wounded after an overturned fuel tanker exploded Tuesday in northwestern Nigeria, authorities said.
The overnight crash occurred on an expressway in Jigawa state. People then rushed to the vehicle to collect the fuel, police spokesman Lawan Shiisu Adam said.
“The residents were scooping up fuel from the overturned tanker when the explosion occurred, sparking a massive inferno,” he said.
Haruna Mairiga, the head of Jigawa state Emergency Management Agency, said at least 147 people were killed. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) gave the same figure.
The tanker, which had travelled about 110km from neighbouring Kano state, veered to avoid colliding with a truck in the town of Majia, according to police.
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 on Wednesday, 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. — NNN-AGENCIES
