Over 100 Lives Lost in Nigeria’s Fuel Tanker Explosion
Desperate Residents Gather Fuel Amidst Soaring Prices and Widespread Poverty
- At least 105 dead and 70 injured after a fuel tanker exploded in Jigawa state
- This explosion follows a similar accident last month that killed 48 people
- Locals risk their lives to collect fuel due to skyrocketing prices and scarcity
At least 105 people have been killed and 70 left injured in northern Nigeria after a crashed tanker exploded near locals who had gathered to retrieve fuel on Tuesday, police told CNN.
The toll is expected to rise from the blast, which happened late evening local time on Tuesday in Majiya, a village in Jigawa state.
“The driver lost control and the tanker somersaulted and spilled fuel into a drainage ditch,” Jigawa police spokesperson Shiisu Lawan Adam said.
“As a result, residents rushed to scoop the fuel when the explosion happened.”
The blast comes a month after at least 48 people were killed in a similar accident in the north-central Niger state.
Fuel tanker explosions are not unusual in Africa’s most populous country, where oil supplies are frequently dispatched by road.
Previous fires have led to multiple casualties. In 2020, more than 500 people lost their lives in more than 1,500 fuel tanker accidents recorded that year, according to Nigeria’s road safety agency.
Residents, beleaguered by soaring living costs in the West African nation – where gasoline is scarce and expensive – often brave danger to scoop fuel from fallen tankers or damaged oil pipelines.
Gas prices have dramatically risen to more than six times their usual rate after the government said last year it would no longer subsidize gasoline.
Poverty remains rife in Nigeria despite its status as one of Africa’s largest oil producers.
