About 60 bodies have been recovered from the scene of a petrol tanker explosion in Dikko, Gurara Local Government Area of Niger State, authorities said on Saturday.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that many people scooping petrol from the fallen tanker were burnt to death in the incident.
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The tragedy occurred when the fuel-laden tanker, belonging to HMY Oil and Gas, exploded.
Kumar Tsukwam, the Niger State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), gave the update on the accident.
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Speaking to our correspondent, Mr Tsukwam said the tanker, with registration number KBG-103-XAX, had loaded 60,000 litres of petrol from Lagos and was en route to Gwagwalada in the Federal Capital Territory when the body of the vehicle detached from its head, causing it to fall.
“The victims were mostly scavengers who gathered to scoop fuel despite attempts to stop them,” Mr Tsukwam said. He added that the fire from the explosion spread to another tanker, compounding the devastation.
However, the Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Abdullah Arah, attributed the explosion to the use of a generator during the transfer of fuel from the fallen tanker to another.
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READ ALSO: Niger bans trucks from bridge after deadly petrol tanker explosion
The officials said emergency responders were deployed to the scene, and investigations into the cause of the explosion were ongoing.
This latest incident underscores the dangers of fuel-related accidents in Nigeria, where illegal scooping of petroleum products often results in fatalities.
Scores of people have been killed in similar incidents in recent years.
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