Individuals put together our bodies for funeral following a tanker explosion in Majiya city, Nigeria, on Wednesday.
Sani Maikatanga/AP
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Sani Maikatanga/AP
ABUJA, Nigeria — Greater than 140 individuals, together with kids, had been killed and dozens had been injured in Nigeria after an overturned gasoline tanker truck exploded in flames whereas they had been attempting to scoop up gas pouring from the automobile, emergency providers stated Wednesday.
The accident occurred at midnight in Jigawa state’s Majiya city when the tanker driver misplaced management of the automobile whereas touring on a freeway, police spokesperson Lawan Adam stated. Residents rushed to the scene and had been scooping up gas, “sparking an enormous inferno,” he stated.
“Near 140 individuals had been put in a mass grave aside from individuals buried elsewhere,” Nura Abdullahi, head of the Nationwide Emergency Administration Company within the area, advised The Related Press.
Residents of Majiya had been in mourning on Wednesday as they held a mass burial for the victims. A lot of the our bodies had been unrecognizable, emergency providers stated.
Individuals collect on the scene of a tanker explosion in Majiya city, Nigeria, on Wednesday.
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Lethal tanker accidents are widespread in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, the place visitors rules should not strictly enforced in lots of locations and there’s a lack of an environment friendly railway system to move cargo.
Additionally it is widespread for individuals to salvage gas with cups and buckets to take dwelling after such accidents. The observe has turn out to be extra widespread due to hovering gas costs, which have tripled because the begin of final 12 months as the federal government ended pricey gasoline subsidies.
The motive force concerned within the accident had traveled about 110 kilometers (68 miles) from neighboring Kano state, police stated.
The Jigawa State Emergency Administration Company initially put the demise toll at 105, together with those that died whereas being handled at hospitals.
Most different victims had been “burned to ashes” on the scene of the accident, stated Dr. Haruna Mairiga, head of Jigawa emergency providers.
“In the event that they knew (concerning the hazard), they wouldn’t have gone to fetch (the gas),” Mairiga stated.
He stated emergency providers arrived on the scene a number of hours after the accident.
Resident Sani Umar advised native Channels Tv that the hearth “unfold so shortly that many couldn’t escape.”
“Individuals had been working in all instructions, screaming for assist,” Umar stated.
“This can be a heartbreaking second for us all,” stated state police Commissioner Ahmadu Abdullahi.
