Fuel tanker explosion kills more than 150 people in Nigeria

More than 150 people, including children, were killed and dozens of others wounded after an overturned fuel tanker exploded in northwestern Nigeria.

The crash took place on an expressway in Jigawa State. People then rushed to the vehicle to collect the fuel, police spokesman Lawan Shiisu Adam said.

Deadly tanker accidents are common in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, which lacks an efficient railway system to transport cargo.

People often salvage fuel with cups and buckets – especially because of soaring fuel prices, which have tripled since the government ended costly gas subsidies last year.

The latest accident occurred at midnight on Tuesday in Majiya town when the driver lost control of the vehicle on a highway, Adam said on Wednesday. Residents rushed to the scene before the “massive inferno.”

Most of the bodies were unrecognisable, emergency services said.

As mass burials were held on Wednesday and Thursday, Dr Haruna Mairiga, head of the Jigawa emergency services, said most of the victims were “burned to ashes” at the scene.

More than 1,500 accidents involving fuel tankers occurred in Nigeria in 2020, resulting in 535 deaths, according to Nigeria’s Federal Road Safety Corps.

At least 48 people were killed in September when a fuel tanker collided with another truck in north-central Nigeria.

The latest accident revived questions about the implementation of safety measures and traffic regulations in the country.