MAJIYA, Nigeria: An explosion has killed more than 140 people in northern Nigeria as crowds rushed to collect fuel spilling from a crashed tanker, officials told AFP on Wednesday. It’s the latest such accident at a time when petrol has become a precious commodity during Nigeria’s worst economic crisis in a generation.

The fuel tanker had veered to avoid another vehicle and crashed in the town of Majiya in Jigawa state on Tuesday, police said. Following the crash, residents crowded round the tanker, gathering fuel that spilt onto the road and in drains, police spokesman Lawan Shiisu Adam said.

Nura Abdullahi, a spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), said “more than 140 people” had been buried in a mass grave and warned the toll was likely to rise further.

Earlier, police said at least 94 people were killed and 50 injured. Shiisu Adam said the residents had “overwhelmed” officers trying to stop them. The Nigerian Medical Association has urged doctors to rush to nearby emergency rooms to help with the influx of patients.

Nigerian lawmakers have observed a minute’s silence in the Senate. In a statement on Wednesday, Nigerian Vice President Kashim Shettima called for a safety review and said the federal government was sending resources to support those affected. Fuel tanker explosions are common in Africa’s most populous nation, where roads can be poorly maintained and residents often look to siphon off fuel following accidents. The price of petrol has soared fivefold since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu scrapped subsidies last year, and there are often shortages. 

Desperation rose further last week after the state oil company hiked prices for the second time in just over a month. Accidents involving tankers are frequent in the country, with the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) recording 1,531 in 2020, causing 535 deaths. Last month, at least 59 people died when a fuel tanker collided with a truck carrying passengers and cattle in northwestern Niger state.

The FRSC said more than 5,000 people died in road accidents in Nigeria in 2023, compared to nearly 6,500 the previous year. But according to the World Health Organization, the figures do not include accidents that are not reported to the authorities. It estimates annual road accident deaths in Nigeria to be closer to 40,000, it said in a report published last year. Deadly fires and explosions also take place across fuel and oil infrastructure in Nigeria, one of the continent’s largest crude producers. — AFP