The accident occurred after the vehicle overturned. Many neighbors gathered to collect spilled fuel and the police were “overwhelmed.”
A fuel tanker truck exploded in northern Nigeria during the night of Tuesday, as announced this Wednesday by the police. At least 94 people died and close to 50 were injured. The truck suffered a accident on a highwayin the state of Jigawa, and many of the victims were hit by the explosion when they went to collect fuel.
What was the accident in Nigeria that left nearly 100 dead?
According to the Jigawa Police spokesperson, Lawal Shisu Adamsthe accident occurred when the truck was traveling from the city of Port Harcourt, in the southern state of Rivers, to the town of Nguru, in the state of Yobe (northern). When the truck “reached the town of Majiyain the town of Taura (in Jigawa)” The driver lost control of the vehicle and it overturned.
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“The contents of the tanker flooded the town’s sewers and drains. The townspeople began looking for gasoline, but then the fuel caught fire,” Adams explained, detailing that “50 people have been hospitalized.”
The frequency of these accidents in Nigeria
Tanker truck explosions are common in Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa and one of its oil powers. The roads there are poorly maintained and the population tries to extract fuel when an accident occurs.
The past September 8an accident on a major highway in Niger State, caused a fuel truck to explode and caused the death of at least 59 people. In another similar case, in April 2023, at least ten people died in the state of Plateau (center) by another explosion of that type.
Source: Ambito
