Truck carrying individuals and cattle crashes head-on with tanker in Agaie space within the north-central Niger state.
A gas tanker has collided with one other truck in Nigeria, inflicting an explosion that killed no less than 48 individuals, in accordance with the nation’s emergency response company.
The gas tanker was additionally carrying cattle within the Agaie space in north-central Niger state and no less than 50 of them have been burned alive, Abdullahi Baba-Arab, director-general of the Niger State Emergency Administration Company, mentioned on Sunday.
Search-and-rescue operations have been below approach on the scene of the accident, he mentioned.
Baba-Arab mentioned initially that 30 our bodies have been discovered. However in a later assertion, he mentioned there have been a further 18 our bodies of victims who have been burned to dying within the collision. He mentioned the useless had been given a mass burial.
It was initially unclear what number of others have been injured.
Mohammed Bago, governor of Niger state, mentioned residents of the affected space ought to stay calm and requested highway customers to “at all times be cautious and abide by highway site visitors rules to safeguard lives and property”.
With the absence of an environment friendly railway system to move cargo, deadly truck accidents are frequent alongside many of the main roads in Nigeria – Africa’s most populous nation, with greater than 220 million residents.
Based on specialists, the principle causes are reckless driving, poor highway circumstances and poorly maintained automobiles.
In 2020 alone, there have been 1,531 petrol tanker crashes leading to 535 fatalities and 1,142 accidents, in accordance with Nigeria’s Federal Highway Security Corps.
The Nigerian Nationwide Petroleum Firm (NNPC) Ltd final week hiked the worth of petrol by no less than 39 p.c, the second main enhance in additional than a yr. However shortages have continued, forcing motorists to queue for hours within the nation’s main cities and cities.
