A gasoline tanker has overturned and exploded in Nigeria’s northern Niger State, killing not less than 35 individuals, in accordance with the nation’s Federal Highway Security Corps (FRSC).
The car skidded off the street and spilled petrol, which ignited shortly after the crash, Aishatu Saadu, the state’s FRSC sector commander, stated on Tuesday.
Nigeria’s TVC Information reported that a number of extra individuals who had been injured within the crash had been taken to the Federal Medical Centre Bida for medical consideration, with Nigeria’s Channels Tv reporting that folks had been affected by extreme burns.
Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago provided his “deepest condolences” to the individuals of Essa within the Katcha native authorities space, the place he stated in an announcement the tanker explosion “claimed many lives and left a number of others injured”.
The governor’s chief press secretary, Bologi Ibrahim, added within the assertion that a number of of the individuals who had been caught up within the explosion had approached the tanker after it turned on its facet, to attempt to retrieve its contents.
“That is yet one more painful, troublesome, and tragic one for the individuals and the state authorities,” Bago stated within the assertion.
The chairman of the Niger State tanker drivers’ affiliation, Farouk Mohammed Kawo, stated that the tragedy was “devastating and avoidable,” in accordance with Channels Tv.
The tanker was transporting petrol from Lagos in northern Nigeria when it crashed, Kawo stated, including that some 30 crashes have been recorded on the identical route within the month of October alone, and that the excessive fee of accidents is because of the “deplorable state of the street”.
Lethal incidents involving petroleum merchandise are widespread in Africa’s most populous nation, the place a lack of pipeline infrastructure means fossil fuels are transported by street.
Poorly maintained roads riddled with potholes contribute to frequent accidents that kill dozens of individuals yearly.
