Nigeria fuel tanker explosion kills more than 100 people

A fuel tanker explosion in has killed around 140 people as people tried to scoop up petrol that had spilt from a truck.

A fuel tanker explosion in northern Nigeria has killed at least 140 people.

Many of the victims had been trying to collect fuel spilt on the road after the tanker crashed in northern Jigawa state late on Tuesday, police spokesman Lawan Shiisu Adam told AFP.

The tanker had veered to avoid colliding with a truck in the town of Majia, he said.

“Multiple households have suffered devastating casualties, losing more than one family member,” Mu’azu Rabiu, a resident of Majia who witnessed the incident, told The New York Times.

The tanker had veered to avoid colliding with a truck in the town of Majia in Jigawa state.

Following the crash, residents crowded around the vehicle, collecting fuel that had spilt on the road and in drains, Adam said.

He said the residents had “overwhelmed” officers trying to stop them. The Nigerian Medical Association has urged doctors to rush to nearby emergency rooms to help with the influx of patients.

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.

Fuel has become an even more precious commodity as Nigeria suffers its worst economic crisis in a generation.

A motorcycle rides past the remain of a fuel tanker whose explosion killed almost 150 people in. An explosion tore through crowds of people who had rushed to collect fuel spilling from a crashed tanker in northern Nigeria. (Photo by Aminu ABUBAKAR / AFP)

The price of petrol has soared fivefold since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu scrapped subsidies last year, and there are often shortages.

Desperation rose further last week after the state oil company hiked prices for the second time in just over a month.

Accidents involving tankers are frequent in the country, with the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) recording 1531 in 2020, causing 535 deaths.

Last month, at least 59 people died when a fuel tanker collided with a truck carrying passengers and cattle in northwestern Niger state.

Residents look at the site of an explosion of a fuel tanker that resulted in the death of almost 150 people in Majiya on October 16, 2024. (Photo by Aminu ABUBAKAR / AFP)

The FRSC said more than 5,000 people died in road accidents in Nigeria in 2023, compared to nearly 6,500 the previous year.

But according to the World Health Organisation, the figures do not include accidents that are not reported to the authorities.

It estimates annual road accident deaths in Nigeria to be closer to 40,000, it said in a report published last year.

Deadly fires and explosions also take place across fuel and oil infrastructure in Nigeria, one of the continent’s largest crude producers.