Petrol tanker explosion in northern Nigeria kills at least 147 people trying to save fuel

At least 147 people, including children, have been killed in Nigeria after an overturned petrol tanker burst into flames while they were trying to scoop up fuel.

The incident took place on Wednesday local time in Majiya town in northern Jigawa state, about 530 kilometers north of the capital Abuja.

Jigawa emergency services chief Haruna Mairiga put the death toll at 147 and said another 50 injured were being treated in hospitals.

Local police spokesman Lawan Shiisu Adam said the tanker was en route from the ancient town of Kano to Yobe State in the north when the driver lost control near Majiya town, causing the tank to overturn and leak fuel.

He said villagers tried to scoop petrol from the spill, which resulted in a fire that engulfed the area.

Residents rushed to the scene of the ‘huge inferno’.

Fatal accidents involving tankers are common in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, which lacks an efficient rail system to move freight, but the accident is one of the worst in recent times.

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

Mass funeral for victims

Mairiga said most of the bodies were unrecognizable after being “burnt to ashes” at the scene.

“If they knew (of the danger), they wouldn’t have gone to get (the fuel),” he said.

The head of the region’s National Emergency Management Agency, Nura Abdullahi, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that nearly 140 people had been buried in a mass grave, while the remaining few were buried in other places.

According to the Nigerian Federal Road Safety Corps, more than 1,500 fuel tanker accidents occurred in Nigeria in 2020, resulting in 535 deaths.

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

The latest accident has revived questions about the implementation of safety measures and traffic rules in the West African country.

Many tankers are not designed according to international best practices to prevent leakage during accidents, says Timothy Iwuagwu, chairman of the Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria. The agencies charged with enforcing safety regulations also often fail to do so, he said.

“There are also not enough awareness campaigns and people do not willfully adhere to safety measures when such accidents happen,” Iwuagwu said.

AP/Reuters