NIGERIA FUEL TANKER EXPLOSION KILLS AT LEAST 147, INJURES DOZENS
Nigeria fuel tanker explosion kills at least 147, injures dozens
Police say explosion on Jigawa state expressway happened as people rushed to the overturned vehicle to collect fuel.
More than 140 people have been killed and dozens of others wounded after an overturned fuel tanker exploded in northwestern Nigeria, authorities said.
The overnight crash occurred on an expressway in Jigawa state. People then rushed to the vehicle to collect the fuel, police spokesman Lawan Shiisu Adam said on Wednesday.
“The residents were scooping up fuel from the overturned tanker when the explosion occurred, sparking a massive inferno,” he told the Associated Press news agency.
Videos that appeared to be from the scene showed a massive fire stretching across the entire area overnight, with what appeared to be bodies littered at the scene.
The fire burned into the early hours of Wednesday.
Haruna Mairiga, the head of Jigawa state Emergency Management Agency, said at least 147 people were killed. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) gave the same figure.
The tanker, which had travelled about 110km (68 miles) from neighbouring Kano state, veered to avoid colliding with a truck in the town of Majia, according to police.
At least 50 wounded people were taken to local hospitals in Ringim and Hadejia towns where they were being treated, police and emergency workers said.
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