This September 8, 2024 picture shows flames and smoke billowing from a fuel tanker that exploded after colliding with a truck carrying passengers and cattle on a route in Niger state’s Agaie local government district. Videograb: Niger State Emergency Management Agency via AFP

More than 90 people have been killed and 50 others injured after a gasoline tanker overturned in Nigeria and sparked an explosion as dozens of people rushed to the vehicle to scoop up the fuel, police said on Wednesday (October 16, 2024).

The explosion occurred past midnight in Jigawa State’s Majiya town after the tanker driver lost control of the vehicle while travelling on a highway close to a university, police spokesperson Lawan Adam said.

Deadly tanker accidents are common in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, where traffic regulations are not strictly enforced in many places and there is a lack of alternatives such as an efficient railway system to transport cargo.

It is also common for people to salvage fuel after such accidents, especially with Nigeria’s soaring fuel prices.

Residents who heard about the latest accident rushed to the scene and were scooping up fuel, “sparking a massive inferno that killed 94 people on the spot”, Mr. Adam said.

Videos that appeared to be from the scene showed a massive fire stretching across the entire area, with what appeared to be bodies littered at the scene.