A tanker truck explosion in Nigeria killed at least 70 people on Saturday morning, according to the National Road Safety Agency. A similar, very deadly accident had already occurred last October. The economic crisis that Nigeria is going through has pushed many Nigerians into precariousness who sometimes risk their lives to recover fuel, the price of which has soared, during road accidents.
At least 70 people were killed on Saturday January 18 in central Nigeria by the explosion of an overturned tanker truck around which a crowd had gathered to collect fuel, according to the National Road Safety Agency.
“The number of deaths so far stands at 70,” Kumar Tsukwam, director of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) for Niger State, told AFP by telephone. “Most of the victims were burned beyond recognition,” he added, adding that he was still at the scene.
On Saturday around 10 a.m. (9 a.m. GMT), the tanker truck carrying 60,000 liters of gasoline suffered an accident at “Dikko junction”, on the road linking the federal capital, Abuja, to Kaduna town , according to the same source.
“The fuel spilled on the ground and a crowd of people gathered to collect the fuel but the tanker suddenly caught fire, engulfing another tanker with it,” explains a note from the FRSC.
-Precariousness and poorly maintained roads
With AFP
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