Dozens feared dead in Nigeria as leaking oil tanker explodes
An overturned oil tanker exploded in Nigeria while dozens of people were scooping up the leaking fuel and many were killed, police and witnesses said Saturday.
Dozens feared dead in Nigeria as leaking oil tanker explodes (Al Jazeera)
"We have recovered 12 corpses and taken 22 persons with serious burns to hospital," police spokeswoman Irene Ugbo told The Associated Press. She said the blast occurred Friday evening in Odukpani in Cross River state in the southeast.
But some residents put the death toll closer to 60.
"The police only recovered a few corpses, many of the other dead were burnt to ashes," witness Richard Johnson told the AP.
ADVERTISEMENT
He said about 60 people were inside a pit scooping fuel when the explosion occurred. "It is not likely that anyone inside the pit survived as there was a lot of fuel in the pit," Johnson said.
He suggested the blast was caused by an electrical generator that had been brought to the scene to help pump out the fuel for people's containers.
It was not immediately clear what caused the truck to overturn.
About a year ago, more than 30 residents in the same locality were burnt to death while scooping fuel from an oil tanker involved in an accident.
Nigeria's worst such accident occurred in 1998, when more than 1,000 people died as the leaking oil pipeline from which they were scooping fuel exploded in the town of Jesse.
ADVERTISEMENT
Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:
Email: news@pulselive.co.ke
Recommended articles
Top 10 African countries with the highest crime rates
Machoka at 70: Emotions run high during Citizen TV presenter's birthday [Video]
Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote poised to overtake another Russian billionaire Vladimir Lisin on Bloomberg billionaires list
Diwali 2022: Is Monday a public holiday in Kenya?
Details of Ngina Kenyatta's luxurious restaurant
Nigerian royal dignitaries, including four kings and a queen, expected to attend Museveni’s 50th wedding anniversary celebrations
Mzee Kibor's will made public, revealing how vast wealth and millions will be distributed
Ini Edo posts new photos amid reports of welcoming a baby through surrogacy