No fewer than 50 persons lost their lives in a petrol tanker explosion on Saturday morning along Dikko-Maje Road in the Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State.
The Niger State Federal Road Safety Commander, Kumar Tsukwam, while confirming the incident said people were scooping the spilled fuel.
Tsukwam said those who went to scoop fuel and those who went to rescue them were engulfed by fire.
“More than 50 people lost their lives in the tragic incident,” he said.
He assured all that personnel of the corps and other sister agencies were on the ground for the rescue mission.
Similarly, the Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, Abdullahi Baba-Arah, said the explosion occurred at about 9 am on Saturday.
He said the incident happened when a tanker loaded with Premium Motor Spirit crashed, and an attempt was made to transfer its contents to another tanker.
Baba-Arah stated that in the process, the PMS came into contact with a generator being used to pump the fuel, triggering an explosion that claimed over 50 lives.
He added that many other persons were injured, while properties worth millions of Naira were destroyed.
Baba-Arah said NSEMA, in collaboration with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Suleja LGA Emergency Committee, and volunteers, are currently carrying out search, rescue, and recovery operations.
He said, “Those injured have been moved to the hospital for treatment while efforts are being made to recover the corpses of the deceased.”
He urged residents of the area to remain calm and cooperate with emergency responders as they work to mitigate the effects of the disaster.
In October 2024, a similar tanker explosion in Majiya town, along the Kano-Hadejia expressway in Taura LGA of Jigawa State, left 209 people dead and 38 injured.