Terrible scene in Nigeria: at least 70 dead in the explosion of a tanker truck looted by distressed residents

At least 70 people were killed Saturday morning 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, the director of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) for Niger State, said by telephone.

Saturday around 10:00 a.m. (09:00 GMT), the tanker truck carrying 60,000 liters of gasoline had an accident near the “jonction de Dikko”, on the road linking the federal capital, Abuja, to the city of Kaduna, according to the same source.

The economic crisis that Nigeria has been going through for a year and a half has pushed many Nigerians into precariousness, particularly due to soaring fuel prices.

Some do not hesitate to risk their lives to recover fuel, the price of which has quintupled in 18 months, during road accidents.

In October, more than 170 people died in the same way in Jigawa state, in the north of Africa’s most populous country.

Nigeria explosion