A petrol tanker skidded off the road and exploded in central Nigeria, killing at least 14 people on Friday, witnesses have said.
The accident which happened around 8:00 am (0700GMT) in the transit town of Tegina in Niger state left eight houses razed, they said.
“We buried 14 people including a six-month-old baby who died in the tanker explosion this morning,” said Muhammad Sani who took part in the rescue operation.
Eight more victims were taken to hospital with burns, two of them in “very critical condition” while eight homes were burnt in the inferno, said another resident Abdullahi Egiworo.
A spokesman for Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in the state who confirmed the accident, refused to give casualty figures.
“We received reports of an accident involving a petrol tanker in Tegina this morning but we are still awaiting details,” Bitrus Max told AFP.
He said emergency officials were heading to the scene to assist in the evacuation of victims.
Due to Nigeria’s poorly maintained roads and also over speeding and disregard of traffic rules by the motorist, there has been series of accidents involving petrol tankers.
Punch reported that last month, three people were killed when a petrol tanker collided with a trailer and exploded on a road linking Nigeria’s commercial hub of Lagos with the rest of the country.
Posted by Juliet Ekwebelam
