About 30 persons have been confirmed dead while about 40 others sustained varying degrees of burns after a petrol-laden tanker exploded on Tuesday in Niger State.
The incident occurred around 11:00 a.m on Tuesday , along the Bida–Agaie Road in the Essan and Badeggi communities, within the Katcha Local Government Area of the state.
Eyewitnesses said the tanker, was reportedly conveying petrol from Lagos to the northern part of the country.
It lost control and overturned, spilling its contents on the road.
During the chaos, some residents rushed to scoop the leaking fuel before the tanker suddenly exploded, engulfing them in flames.
Emergency responders, including operatives of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and local volunteers, were deployed to evacuate the injured and recover the remains of the dead. The injured were rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment.
Chairman of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) branch of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) in Niger State, Comrade Mohammad Farouk Kawo, who confirmed the casualty figures, described the incident as “devastating and avoidable.”
He complained that the recurring tanker accidents along the Bida–Agaie route were a result of the deplorable state of the road, calling on the Niger State government under Governor Mohammed Umar Bago to urgently rehabilitate the stretch to prevent further loss of lives.
He told newsmen that, no fewer than 30 tanker crashes have occurred in the same area this month alone, raising serious safety concerns among motorists and residents.
