Suleja
The death toll in this incident has reached 86 after the explosion in a gasoline tanker in the north-central part of Nigeria. The situation here is very bad after the explosion on Saturday morning. The country’s emergency response agency said that 86 people have died so far. The explosion took place early in the morning near the Suleja region of Niger state when some people were on board a crashed oil rig. They were trying to transfer gasoline from the tanker to another truck using the generator.
Explosion occurred while transferring gasoline
While transferring fuel from the tanker through the generator, it exploded, resulting in the death of the people transferring the gasoline and people standing nearby. The explosion was so fierce that many people were killed instantly. The number of deaths is increasing with time. There was a huge scream here after the explosion. Most of the victims killed included poor local residents.
people burnt to ashes
Husseini Isa of the National Emergency Management Agency said that 55 other people were injured and were being treated in three hospitals in the Suleja area. The officer present here told that this accident was so terrible that some people were burnt to ashes. He also indicated that the death toll could be more than 86. He said, “Without forensic investigation we will not be able to know the exact number of dead.”
Let us tell you that a similar accident took place in Jigawa state in October last year, in which 147 people were killed.
Death toll may increase
Many people were injured due to the explosion in the fuel tanker. These people were admitted to a nearby hospital for treatment. The condition of most of these people was critical. In such a situation, it was already feared that the death toll may increase and that is what happened. There is still a possibility of the death toll increasing further. More than 50 people are still admitted in the hospital in injured condition.
Most of those who died were Muslims
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and a large number of Muslims live in its Niger state. In such a situation, most of those who died in the fuel tanker blast are Muslims. Till late Saturday night, local residents and officials kept digging graves to bury those who died as per Islamic customs.
A similar accident happened last year also
A similar accident took place last year in Majia city of Jigawa state in Nigeria. On the night of 15 October, a tanker filled with fuel overturned and there was a massive explosion. 147 people died in this accident.
Such accidents happen often
Such accidents often happen in Nigeria when fuel tankers explode and this not only causes loss of life but also damage to property. Many efforts are made to stop them, but it is of no use.
