More than 100 people have been killed and over 50 others injured in Nigeria’s northern Jigawa state following a gasoline tanker explosion, local media has reported, citing police in the West African nation.
The tanker crashed on the Kano-Hadejia Expressway in Majiya on Tuesday night and subsequently blew up, according to Lawan Shiisu Adam, spokesperson for Jigawa State Police Command.
Several of the victims had been attempting to collect fuel that had spilled on the road and into the drains, he said.
“The casualty figure is about 105, and the number of injured is 55 as against the 50 earlier confirmed,” Adam told the Nigerian daily PUNCH on Wednesday.
The majority of those killed have been burned beyond recognition, and a mass burial will be held later in the day, he stated.
Haruna Mairiga, head of the Jigawa State Emergency Management Agency, told The Associated Press that 97 people were “burned to ashes” at the scene, while eight more died in the hospital.
Videos purporting to be from the Tuesday blast showed a massive inferno engulfing the entire area, with people screaming in an attempt to rally others to save those caught in the flames.
Africa’s largest crude oil producer frequently experiences fatal tanker accidents, which are caused in part by poor road maintenance. Last month, a fuel truck exploded after colliding with another vehicle in Nigeria’s north-central Niger state, killing nearly 50 people. The practice of scooping up petrol after such incidents has also reportedly become widespread in a country where fuel prices have tripled since the government ended gasoline subsidies last year.
“We are worried that in spite of police warning people to stay clear from scenes of accidents involving fuel tankers, they still engage in such acts. People gathered around the accident scene. That is the reason for the mass casualties,” Adam told state broadcaster NAN.