Fuel tanker truck blast kills at least 60 in Nigeria

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria: At least 60 people were killed and more injured in northern Nigeria on Saturday when a petrol tanker truck overturned, spilling fuel that exploded, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) said.

The accident in Niger state follows a similar blast in Jigawa state last October that killed 147 people, one of the worst such tragedies in Africa’s most populous nation.

Kumar Tsukwam, FRSC sector commander for Niger state, said most of the victims were impoverished local residents who had rushed to scoop up the spilled petrol after the truck overturned.

“Large crowd of people gathered to scoop fuel despite concerted efforts to stop them,” Tsukwam said in a statement.

“Suddenly, the tanker burst into flames, engulfing another tanker. So far 60 corpses (have been) recovered from the scene.”

Tsukwam said firefighters had managed to put out the fire.

Such accidents have become common in Africa’s largest oil producer, killing dozens of people in the country grappling with its worst cost of living crisis in a generation.

The price of petrol in Nigeria has soared more than 400 per cent since President Bola Tinubu scrapped a decades-old subsidy when he came into office in May 2023.

Bologi Ibrahim, spokesperson to Niger state governor residents should give priority to their safety when petrol tanker trucks are involved in accidents.

Last year, another fuel tanker had exploded after colliding with a truck carrying passengers and cattle in northern Nigeria, killing at least 59 people, a rescue agency had said.

Initially, 48 people were reported killed in the incident in north-central Nigeria.

Photographs released by the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) showed workers burying more than a dozen blackened and charred bodies of victims from Sunday’s early morning incident.

Images showed burned-out shells of the vehicles, one still billowing with smoke and flames after the incident in Niger’s Agaie local government district.

Ibrahim Husseini, the spokesman for the Niger SEMA, told AFP that the number of fatalities had risen to 59 from an earlier toll of 52 when more victims were discovered in the wreckage and one of the injured died.

The next day, most of the victims were given a mass burial. “It is possible that more dead bodies could be discovered,” Husseini said in a text message.

The explosion had happened after a petrol tanker loaded with PMS (fuel) collided with a trailer truck loaded with travellers and cattle, according to SEMA. Two other vehicles, a crane and a pickup truck, were also involved, it added, while more than 50 cattle were burnt alive.

Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago expressed sadness over the “colossal” loss, urging local residents to remain calm.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s office had said that the president had “directed relevant federal agencies in transportation and road infrastructure to redouble their efforts and work with state governments to enhance the safety and security of travellers and residents”.

Fuel tanker explosions are common in Africa’s most populous nation, where roads can be poorly maintained, and residents often look to siphon off fuel following accidents.

According to the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), more than 5,000 people died in road accidents in Nigeria in 2023, compared to nearly 6,500 in 2022.

However, according to the World Health Organisation, the figures had not been taken into account accidents neither reported to the authorities. It estimates annual road accident deaths in Nigeria to be nearly 40,000, in a report published 2023.

Fires and theft

Deadly fires and explosions also happen in the fuel and oil infrastructure in Nigeria, one of the continent’s largest crude producers where petroleum theft is a major issue.

Accidents involving tankers are frequent in the country, with the FRSC recording 1,531, causing 535 deaths, in 2020. Two years ago, around 110 people died when an illegal oil refinery exploded in southern Nigeria.

Nigeria recently faced serious fuel shortages after the National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL) said it was struggling with debts to suppliers. A sudden increase in fuel prices by NNPCL last week has added to the financial burden for Nigerians already coping with a cost-of-living crisis.