Petrol tanker explosion kills 48 persons in Nigeria’s Niger state

Tragedy struck on Sunday when 48 people lost their lives as a result of a petrol tanker explosion that occurred along Bida-Agaie-Lapai- road in Niger, north Central Nigeria.

Alhaji Abdullah- Baba-Arah, Director-General, Niger Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), confirmed this in a statement in Minna on Sunday.

He said the agency received a report of a deadly tanker explosion that occurred on Sunday at about 12:30 am along Bida-Agaie-Lapai highway.

According to him , the scene of the disaster is two kilometres away from Dendo community in Agaie Local government Area.

He said the incident occurred when a tanker loaded with petrol (PMS) collided with a trailer truck loaded with travelers and cattle from Wudil in Kano State en route Lagos.

Baba-Arah said two other vehicles, a crane truck and a pickup van were also involved in the multiple incident.

He disclosed that over 30 people have been confirmed dead, with over 50 cattle burnt alive.

The director-general said the agency’s Rapid Respond Team (RRT) and other ‘Local Emergency Management Committees (LGEMCs)’ were still at the scene of the incident.

He said that they were conducting search and rescue operations as more corpses were still trapped inside the ill-fated trucks.