ABUJA, Nigeria – A fuel tanker overturned late on Tuesday in Nigeria’s northern state of Jigawa after the driver lost control of the vehicle, spilling petrol which exploded and killed at least 147 people, police and state emergency services said on Wednesday.
The accident is one of the worst in recent times in Africa’s most populous nation, which is battling with widespread security threats and a cost of living crisis.
Haruna Mairiga, head of Jigawa state emergency services, put the death toll from the accident at 147.
Local police spokesperson Lawan Shiisu Adam said the tanker was travelling from the ancient city of Kano to Yobe State in the north, when the driver lost control near Majia town in Taura local government area, about 530 kilometers (330 miles) north of the capital Abuja, causing it to overturn and spill fuel.
Adam said that villagers attempted to scoop petrol from the spillage, resulting in a fire that engulfed the area, reportedly leading to many deaths.
Adam added that 50 others were wounded and have been taken to local hospitals, in Ringim and Hadejia towns where they were being treated.
A mass burial was held for the dead on Wednesday, Mairiga said.
Many roads in Nigeria are poorly maintained and riven with potholes, causing accidents that claim dozens of lives every year.
Last month, at least 48 people were killed in north-central Nigeria when a fuel tanker exploded after colliding with another truck carrying travellers and cattle, trapping other vehicles as well in the blaze.
