UPDATED: Tanker explosion kills many on Niger highway

A tanker carrying petrol has exploded at a village on the Bida-Agaei road in Niger State, killing an unspecified number of people.

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The accident, according to a Facebook post by one Muhammad Somanji, occurred in Essa village, Katcha LGA.

At the time of filing this report, the cause of the fire has not been determined. The exact number of fatalities is also yet to be confirmed by emergency officials.

“Several individuals who sustained varying degrees of injuries were rushed to nearby hospitals for urgent medical attention,” Mr Somanji wrote. “Emergency response teams are currently on ground working to manage the situation and assist affected victims.”

He added that “authorities have launched an investigation to uncover the circumstances surrounding the explosion.”

In a video Mr Somanji uploaded, residents could be heard calling out names of loved ones suspected to be missing at the time of the incident.

Fire service confirms incident

The Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Niger State Command, Aishatu Sa’adu, confirmed the incident in Minna on Tuesday, according to a report by the News Agency of Nigeria.

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Ms Sa’adu revealed that 35 persons lost their lives while 46 others sustained various degrees of injuries.

She, however, said that her men were already conducting a rescue operation at the scene of the accident.

Ms Sa’adu said the incident caused traffic gridlock on the ever-busy expressway, particularly due to the bad nature of the road.

The Bida-Agaei road has been in bad shape since 2017. Although the road is being reconstructed, travelers worried that the contractors are slow since they started working about five years ago.

According to Ms Sa’adu, the deplorable state of the road slowed down response for rescue operations.
The cause

Ms Sa’adu said preliminary investigations revealed that the crash was a lone accident resulting from loss of control by the tanker driver.

However, she blamed the residents who attempted to scoop fuel from the fallen tanker.

“It is God that gives wealth. People should avoid greed and be content with what God has given them,” she advised.

According to her, injured victims were being treated at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Bida.

The Niger State Chairman of the Tanker Drivers Association and National Ex-Officio of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Farouk Kawo, told NAN that the tanker was conveying petroleum products from Lagos to the northern part of the country.

Mr Kawo revealed that more than 30 tankers had been involved in accidents on the same route in October alone, attributing the frequent crashes to the deplorable condition of the road.

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“The community youths have continued to scoop products from accidented vehicles. Just last Sunday, a tanker conveying groundnut oil also crashed and its contents were scooped,” he said.

Mr Kawo appealed to the Niger State Governor Mohammed Bago, to urgently intervene by grading the bad portions of the road to ease movement and reduce accidents.

“If the bad spots are repaired, it will go a long way in preventing further loss of lives and property,” Mr Kawo said.

Previous tanker explosions in Niger State

In January alone, Niger State recorded at least four tanker explosions that killed more than 100.

On 18 January, a deadly tanker explosion claimed more than 70 lives in Dikko, a popular town in Niger State. This was followed by two other explosions along Lapai-Agaei road.

In February, another tanker explosion rocked the state, destroying properties worth millions of naira.