Victims were burnt to death on Tuesday trying to collect fuel that had spilled from the crashed vehicle at Majia
\n Majia
\nA fuel tanker explosion in northern Nigeria has killed more than 140 people, a spokesman for the national emergency agency told AFP on Wednesday.
\nVictims were burnt to death on Tuesday trying to collect fuel that had spilled from the crashed vehicle in the town of Majia in Jigawa state.
\nNura Abdullahi, a spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), said \u201cmore than 140\u201d people have been buried in a mass grave and warned the toll was likely to rise further.
\nThe Nigerian Medical Association has urged doctors to rush to nearby emergency rooms to help with the influx of patients.
\nFuel tanker explosions are common in Africa\u2019s most populous nation, where roads can be poorly maintained and residents often look to siphon off fuel following accidents.
\nFuel has become an even more precious commodity as Nigeria suffers its worst economic crisis in a generation.
\nThe price of petrol has soared fivefold since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu scrapped subsidies last year, and there are often shortages.
\nDesperation rose further last week after the state oil company hiked prices for the second time in just over a month.
\nAccidents involving tankers are frequent in the country, with the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) recording 1,531 in 2020, causing 535 deaths.
\nLast month, at least 59 people died when a fuel tanker collided with a truck carrying passengers and cattle in northwestern Niger state.
\nThe FRSC said more than 5,000 people died in road accidents in Nigeria in 2023, compared to nearly 6,500 the previous year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Victims were burnt to death on Tuesday trying to collect fuel that had spilled from the crashed vehicle at Majia Majia A fuel tanker explosion in northern Nigeria has killed more than 140 people, a spokesman for the national emergency agency told AFP on Wednesday. Victims were burnt to death on Tuesday trying to collect […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":437736,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-437705","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n