A devastating petrol tanker explosion along Dikko-Maje Road in the Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State on Saturday left at least 50 people dead.
Many others reportedly suffered injuries in various degrees as a result of a gas tanker spilling its contents.
The State Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Sector Commander, Kumar Tsukwam, confirmed the news in Minna.
A loaded gasoline tanker fell on the spot, according to Tsukwam, and no one was aware of the danger that lay ahead. People scooped the spilled fuel up unaware of it.
He claimed that both those who went to rescue them and those who scooped the fuel were inundated by the flames.
Tsukwam said: “More than 50 people lost their lives in the tragic incident”.
He assured, however, that personnel from the corps and other agencies were at the scene for rescue operations.
In the same vein, the Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, Abdullahi Baba-Arah, said the explosion occurred at 9.00 am on Saturday.
According to Baba-Arah, “the incident occurred when a tanker carrying PMS crashed and the drivers attempted to move its contents to a different tanker.”
The spelling PMS was in contact with a generator that was used to power the transfer process, causing a flame explosion that left over 50 people dead, injured, and millions of dollars worth of damage.
Baba-Arah stated that the agency is collaborating with NEMA, the Suleja local government area Emergency Committee, and volunteers to conduct search, rescue, and recovery operations, aiming to rescue the injured, and recover corpses.
Just three months after the previous explosion, which left several people dead, the explosion happened.
Source: Per Second News
Leave a Reply