A national emergency agency spokesman told AFP on Wednesday that more than 140 people were killed when a fuel tanker exploded in northern Nigeria.
In the town of Majia in the state of Jigawa, victims were burned to death on Tuesday while trying to collect fuel that had spilled from the crashed vehicle.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)’s spokesman, Nura Abdullahi, stated that “more than 140” people had been buried in a mass grave and that the death toll was likely to rise further.
The episode happened in Majia town in the Taura neighborhood government region, around 530 kilometers north of the capital Abuja, representative for Jigawa State Police Order Lawan Shiisu Adam told Reuters by phone.
Adam stated that the injured were being treated at nearby Ringim and Hadejia town hospitals.
He stated that a mass burial for the deceased would take place later that day.
In Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, many roads are poorly maintained and filled with potholes, resulting in dozens of fatal accidents each year.
A fuel tanker exploded last month in north-central Nigeria after colliding with another truck carrying travelers and cattle. The fire also engulfed other vehicles, killing at least 48 people.
