- Over 100 killed in Nigeria petrol tanker explosion
- Residents gathered fuel from crashed tanker before blast
- Rising fuel prices increase fuel scavenging incidents
As petrol prices in Nigeria have risen, buckets and cups to collect fuel from crashed tankers have grown in popularity.
More than 100 people were murdered and 50 injured as they hurried to get fuel when a petrol tanker toppled and exploded.
The accident occurred late Tuesday night in Majia, a town in the Taura district of northern Jigawa state, after the driver lost control on a highway, according to police spokesman Lawan Adam.
He claimed that the occupants were gathering fuel from the upturned tanker when the explosion occurred, resulting in a tremendous conflagration.
Dr. Haruna Mairiga, head of Jigawa state’s emergency management office, claimed 97 people were “burned to ashes” at the site, with eight dying in the hospital.
Dr. Mairiga stated that if they had known about the danger, they would not have gone to get the fuel, and emergency services would have waited many hours to arrive.
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The video showed a massive inferno and what appeared to be burnt bodies strewn throughout the area.
As fuel costs rise in Africa’s most populous country, buckets and cups to scavenge petrol have grown in popularity.
Lawan Shiisu, a state police spokesman, said those injured were transferred to hospitals in Ringim and Hadejia.
Tanker accidents are widespread in Nigeria, where most cargo is transported by road due to a lack of an efficient rail infrastructure, and traffic laws are not strictly enforced in many areas.
According to police, the motorist in Tuesday’s incident went around 68 miles (110 km) from adjacent Kano state.
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