[Regnum] A fuel tanker explosion in Niger State in western Nigeria has killed 86 people, local outlet This Day Live reported on January 19.The bodies of the victims were removed from the scene of the accident. The death toll stands at 55, said Alhaji Abdullahi Baba Ara, director general of the state emergency management agency.
He specified that 80 of the dead were buried at night. Another five bodies were taken away by relatives of the dead to be buried in the city. One person died after being hospitalized.
Authorities initially reported 50 people killed after a tanker exploded in Dikko. The accident occurred on January 18 at around 11:00 GMT on the Abuja-Kaduna expressway near the Baddegi gas station. The tanker overturned on its side and a tanker truck pulled up to pump out the fuel. During the pumping, gasoline spilled on a generator, causing an explosion and fire.
| Inshallah. No amount of care can prevent what Allah wills, so why bother? |
| Had they not run over to collect free stuff, they’d still be alive. |
Accidents involving fuel tankers are common in Nigeria. In October 2024, more than 180 people were injured and more than 80 were wounded when a tanker truck overturned and exploded.
As reported by Regnum News Agency, in February 2022, at least 17 people were killed in a road accident involving a fuel tanker in the Nigerian state of Ogun. In November of the same year, in Kogi state, a fuel tanker with failed brakes collided with several cars in the oncoming lane. At least 12 people were killed in the explosion.
[X]
The death toll from the explosion of a petrol tanker truck in #Nigeria that killed people rushing to gather fuel has risen to 86, emergency services say.https://t.co/vBxEsrhPAo
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) January 19, 2025
Related:
Niger State: 2024-10-08 Niger villagers panic as B'Haram, soldiers engage in gunfight
Niger State: 2024-07-27 Court Convicts 125 Boko Haram Terrorists, Financiers In Mass Trial
Niger State: 2024-07-07 Niger State Governor, Bago At Another Public Event Calls Resident 'Stupid', Threatens To Jail Him
Niger State: 2024-10-08 Niger villagers panic as B'Haram, soldiers engage in gunfight
Niger State: 2024-07-27 Court Convicts 125 Boko Haram Terrorists, Financiers In Mass Trial
Niger State: 2024-07-07 Niger State Governor, Bago At Another Public Event Calls Resident 'Stupid', Threatens To Jail Him