The death toll from the explosion of a tanker truck on Tuesday evening in northern Nigeria now stands at 170 dead and 70 people hospitalized in intensive care, according to figures given by the police on Friday.
On Tuesday evening, a truck carrying gasoline swerved to avoid colliding with another truck in the locality of Majiya (Jigawa State), about a hundred kilometers northeast of Kano, the main city in the north of the country.
After the accident, residents flocked around the vehicle to collect the fuel that had spilled onto the road and shoulders. The truck then exploded, killing many people nearby.
“The death toll stands at 170,” Lawan Shiisu Adam, a police spokesman, said in a statement Friday. “70 people are receiving intensive care at Azare, Nguru and Birnin Kudu medical centers,” he added.
Other hospitals are also treating injured people, he said.
A previous report provided Wednesday by local authorities reported 140 deaths and as many people hospitalized.
Ever more severe precariousness
This accident is one of the deadliest of its type in Nigeria and illustrates the growing precariousness of Nigerians, pushing victims to brave the risks of explosion to collect a few liters of gasoline.
The most populous country in Africa is going through a serious economic crisis, with high inflation fueled in particular by the economic reforms of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in power since May 2023.
Gasoline has become inaccessible for many, its price having quintupled in 18 months.
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According to a new World Bank report released Thursday, 56% of Nigerians live below the poverty line, up from 40% in 2018.
