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A fuel tanker explosion in northern Nigeria has claimed the lives of over 140 people, a spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) told AFP on Wednesday.
The victims were burned to death on Tuesday while attempting to gather fuel from a crashed tanker in the town of Majia, located in Jigawa state.
Nura Abdullahi, the NEMA spokesperson, reported that “more than 140” individuals have been buried in a mass grave and cautioned that the death toll could continue to rise.
The Nigerian Medical Association has called on doctors to quickly attend to nearby hospitals to assist with the overwhelming number of patients.
Fuel tanker explosions are frequent in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, where road conditions are often poor, and locals sometimes attempt to siphon fuel from tankers involved in accidents.
The situation has worsened due to Nigeria’s ongoing economic crisis, the most severe in decades. Since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ended fuel subsidies last year, petrol prices have increased fivefold, and shortages are common.
Tensions escalated last week after the state oil company raised prices for the second time in just over a month.
Tanker-related accidents occur regularly in Nigeria. The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) recorded 1,531 such incidents in 2020, resulting in 535 deaths.
In September, at least 59 people were killed when a fuel tanker collided with a truck transporting passengers and livestock in northwestern Niger state.
According to the FRSC, over 5,000 people died in road accidents in Nigeria in 2023, compared to nearly 6,500 deaths the year before.