Nigerian fuel tanker explosion kills 35, road safety agency says

At least 35 people have died as a result of a fuel tanker overturn and explode in Nigeria’s northern Niger State, according to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) of the country.

The state’s FRSC sector commander, Aishatu Saadu, said on Tuesday that the vehicle skidded off the road and spilled gasoline, which quickly ignited.

Nigeria’s Channels Television reported that several more people who were hurt in the collision were being treated for serious burns, according to TVC News.

The statement from the explosion of a tanker in the Katcha local government area, where Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago said the explosion had “resulted many lives and left several others injured,” was delivered to the Essa residents.

Bologi Ibrahim, the governor’s top press secretary, added in the statement that several of the explosion’s victims had approached the tanker to try to retrieve its contents.

According to Bago, “this is yet another painful, difficult, and tragic experience for the people and the state government.”

Farouk Mohammed Kawo, the Niger State tanker drivers’ association’s chairman, called the incident “devastating and avoidable” according to Channels Television.

According to Kawo, the tanker was carrying gasoline from Lagos in northern Nigeria when it collided. According to Kawo, there were about 30 accidents along the same route in October alone, and this is due to the “deplorable state of the road.”

In Africa’s most populous nation, where there is no pipeline infrastructure, it is common to have tragic incidents involving petroleum products.