Nigeria fuel tanker explosion leaves 48 dead

KABUL (Pajhwok): A fierce collision between a fuel tanker and a passenger lorry has left dozens of people dead in central Nigeria, a media report said on Monday.

The accident occurred in Niger on Sunday, sparking an explosion and a blaze that engulfed both vehicles and left 48 people dead, the Niger State Emergency Management Agency said.

The BBC quoted Abdullahi Baba-arah, director-general of the agency, as saying rescuers had been dispatched to the scene to control the situation.

Footage taken from the site showed the two vehicles, which were completely torched. Several animals in the lorry were also killed.

An emergency rescue worker told Reuters they were trying to pull out bodies and dead cattle, which were still inside the vehicle.

With a mass burial planned for the victims, Governor Umaru Bago said he was “pained by the unfortunate incident” in a condolence message to the victims’ families.

A fuel tanker collided head-on with another truck in Nigeria on Sunday causing an explosion that killed at least 48 people, the country’s emergency response agency said.

PAN Monitor/mud