Gasoline tanker explosion in Nigeria kills more than 140: NPR

People prepare bodies for burial after a tanker explosion in Majiya town, Nigeria, Wednesday.

Sani Maikatanga/AP

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Sani Maikatanga/AP

ABUJA, Nigeria — More than 140 people, including children, were killed and dozens injured in Nigeria after an overturned gasoline tanker burst into flames while they tried to scoop up fuel pouring out of the vehicle, emergency services said Wednesday.

The accident occurred at midnight in Majiya town in Jigawa state when the tanker driver lost control of the vehicle while driving on the highway, police spokesman Lawan Adam said. Residents rushed to the scene and were scooping up fuel, “which caused a huge fire,” he said.

“Almost 140 people were put in a mass grave, not counting people buried in other places,” Nura Abdullahi, head of the region’s National Emergency Management Agency, told The Associated Press.

Residents of Majiya were in mourning on Wednesday as they held a mass funeral for the victims. Most bodies were unrecognizable, emergency services said.

People gather at the site of a tanker explosion in the city of Majiya, Nigeria on Wednesday.

Sani Maikatanga/AP

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Sani Maikatanga/AP

Fatal accidents involving tankers are common in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, where traffic rules are not strictly enforced in many places and there is a lack of an efficient rail system to move freight.

It is also common for people to save fuel with cups and buckets to take home after such accidents. The practice has become more common due to soaring fuel prices, which have tripled since early last year when the government ended expensive gas subsidies.

The driver involved in the accident had traveled about 110 kilometers (68 miles) from neighboring Kano state, police said.

The Jigawa State Emergency Management Agency initially estimated the death toll at 105, including those who died while being treated in hospitals.

Most of the other victims were “burned to ashes” at the scene of the accident, said Dr. Haruna Mairiga, head of emergency services in Jigawa.

“If they knew (of the danger), they would not have gone to get (the fuel),” Mairiga said.

He said emergency services arrived on the scene several hours after the accident.

Resident Sani Umar told local Channels Television that the fire “spread so quickly that many could not escape.”

“People were running in all directions screaming for help,” Umar said.

“This is a heartbreaking moment for all of us,” said state police commissioner Ahmadu Abdullahi.