At least 70 people tragically killed in a horrific fuel tanker explosion in Nigeria, over a hundred burnt
A fuel tanker exploded after flipping over in central Nigeria, killing 70 people. The incident occurred on Saturday when people rushed to collect fuel from the overturned tanker. Most of the victims were burnt beyond recognition.
Kumar Tsukwam, the head of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), stated that a truck carrying 60,000 liters of gasoline was involved in an accident at about 10 AM at the Dikko junction. This road links Nigeria's capital, Abuja, to the northern city of Kaduna.
Tsukwam said, "Most of the bodies could not be identified because they were burned. We are on-site working to restore normalcy."
An FRSC statement mentioned, "A large crowd gathered to scoop the fuel, and suddenly the tanker exploded, engulfing another tanker in flames." So far, 60 corpses have been recovered, and most of the victims were scavengers.
In 2023, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu abolished the fuel subsidy, causing the price of gasoline and essential goods to rise fivefold, which led to protests. As a result, many people are risking their lives to collect fuel during tanker accidents.
Niger State Governor Umaru Bago issued a statement saying, "This is an extremely tragic and unsettling incident." He also mentioned that several people sustained varying degrees of burns.
In October, over 170 people died in a similar incident in Jigawa State.
